text:
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Mastering Context: The New Digital Frontier
Credit: Getty Images by d3sign
By Molly Schonthal
As brand marketers, we often believe we've seen the apex of new and unique ways to reach consumers as well as the levels of personalization a product can offer. As a brand marketer and digital strategist at Mars for eight years before joining Salsify, I've seen the struggle to maintain brand identity and relevance firsthand. However, the truth is closer to what Jeff Bezos wrote in a now infamous letter to shareholders: "customers are … divinely discontent." The trajectory of customer expectations will always extend, and just when we think we've met those expectations and gotten "there," "there" moves.
Personalization of Old vs. Realities of Today
When I was in middle school, my mom and I shopped for special occasion clothing at one local store. The sales reps, a pair of little old ladies, knew our family and they could personalize my shopping experience by combining their knowledge of me, the occasion, our budget and the inventory at the store. We trusted them and their recommendations, and purchased clothing each time.
It wasn't too long before the mom-and-pop experience I had in that small dress shop was replaced by shopping malls and department stores, then departments based on gender and age gave way to departments led by brands.
Today I can more easily shop from a clothing manufacturer halfway around the world than a mile away, and I can probably get a better price and a bigger selection, but do they know me? Do they understand the occasion? Do they understand that it won't feel like spring in Chicago until mid-May, and that I would never wear anything in millennial pink?
Context vs. Consistency
As a brand marketer, you're taught that brand consistency leads to increased purchases, that mental salience is built by repeated exposure to the same thing over time. You were conditioned to use the same colors, same words, same images, same font — you get the picture. Repetition as a form of brand loyalty creation was the name of the game for decades.
In today's retail environment, this traditional best practice is being turned on its head. Brands are being asked to flex their identity to personalize experiences on the fly. Customers expect brands to understand their wants and needs and make relevant products readily available to them.
The Nike Melrose store is a perfect example of a brand's effort to flex its identity. While staying true to the core principles behind a Nike-branded experience — the concept of heroic athleticism and self-empowerment — even at a small scale, the look and feel as well as the merchandising of this store is based on of a subset of Nike consumers specific to a neighborhood in Los Angeles. This is a big change from the days we used to believe that every flagship experience needed to exist with the same language, in the same colors, with the same best-selling merchandise.
Mass Personalization of the Retail Environment
Let's look at some other examples of brands leveraging their knowledge of customer preferences to drive superior experiences and sales. Whole Foods Markets recent digital product catalog is a good example of this trend. The Amazon.com-owned retailer announced the ability for consumers to tailor their searches based on dietary preferences. McDonald's also recently announced its intention to use consumer data collected through its mobile app to determine what items are highlighted on all its digital menus. The goal is for McDonald's menus (both drive-throughs and in-store) to offer more personalized products and promotions based on who is there, favorite orders at the location, and local weather conditions (e.g., include refreshing foods on hotter days and comfort food on colder days). Grocery chain Kroger announced a partnership with Microsoft that includes digital shelves, which can be used to personalize descriptions and product experiences both in-store and online. This approach seems to be the digital equivalent of the little old ladies in the dress store, with data acting as our "trusted advisors."
Advanced Personalization is Here, and it's Hard
Beyond flexing brand identity according to who is purchasing, the same product — with a number of variants — might be sold using different language depending on what's important to shoppers in one retail experience (price) vs another (ingredients).
You can think about this as the shift from brand loyalty to product loyalty. It's a focus on what something is, where it is, what it does, and how well it fits my need vs. searching for the same brand over and over again. Sometimes this will mean the same product showing up in a new occasion, and sometimes this will mean introducing a more personalized product into the market.
This type of personalization based on context relies on access to customer data and understanding. Most large global brands are still encountering challenges knowing and understanding their customers as retailers and tech companies add to the distance between a brand and its end consumer. Gone are the days of category captainship when brands understood their customers more than their retail partners. The requirements for retailers were less demanding and less complex. The retailer was the physical vehicle for the brand and a place for consumers to get ahold of the product itself. In this model, the in-store brand experience was determined and negotiated ahead of time, and brands could advise retailers on the ins and outs of a specific category and leverage new product launches or increased investment in marketing campaigns to gain more shelf real estate. The consumer was also a "captive audience" shopping the same store or set of shelves over and over again.
As the digital point of purchase becomes the key to understanding category buying behavior, and consumer expectations around personal, contextual buying increase, brands no longer have the same predictability of purchase and they don't have access to the type of data that would allow them to do enough innovation around consumer experiences. It's exponentially harder now to be an evolving brand. Brand marketers must develop creative ways to close the intelligence gap or risk facing invisibility and general irrelevance. My next article will be about the hard strategy and tactics brands should be thinking about and employing in order to successfully make the transition from driving volumes to exploring context.
Molly Schonthal is the vice president of strategy and innovation at Salsify, a product experience management platform.
Related story: Applying the Netflix Customer Experience to Retail
Molly Schonthal Author's page
Sitting at the intersection between digital innovation, marketing, e-commerce and technology, Molly has succeeded in mobilizing large organizations like Wrigley, Mars and Nokia around important opportunities, re-framing strategies taking the (technology-enabled) future into mind. Throughout her career, Molly has been a pioneer in connecting technology to business growth. At Mars, she built the first cross-functional (sales + marketing), cross-segment (confections, pet, food) technology roadmap and tripled funding for these initiatives in just under 3 years. Molly, once a Salisfy customer, now sits on the "other side of the table in her dream job, helping Salsify and its customers imagine the future and balance what's needed with what's next.
Product Information Management is Key to Success
How Retailers Can Use Content to Compete Online
DTC Brands and the Future of Customer Experience
Content Stars in JTV's Personalization Efforts
Walmart, BuzzFeed Bring Shoppable Recipes to Tasty
The Case for Product Content Automation
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text:
Q: What is the problem with my code that it makes my resultant image of this particular image as jigsaw puzzles? I am implementing a conference paper and it was originally in matlab and I translated it into python to process it with opencv using fuzzy contextual contrast enhancement method attached paper here in gdrive for reference.
Research Paper Drive link open to all
import cv2
import math
import numpy as np

image = cv2.imread('img1.bmp')
CIm = cv2.cvtColor(image, cv2.COLOR_BGR2HSV)

a=CIm[:,:,2]
Im = a/255
def f1(num):
    return math.floor(num*10000)
Im = np.vectorize(f1)(Im)

rows = Im.shape[0]
cols = Im.shape[1]

Ffactor = np.zeros(Im.shape,dtype = int)
H = np.zeros((10001,1),dtype=float)

w=1

width = round(np.std(Im.astype(float)))
for i in range(rows):
    for j in range(cols):

        totf = 0.0
        count = 0
        f = 0.0

        for ii in range(-w,w+1):
            for jj in range(-w,w+1):
                if (i + ii >= 0 and i + ii < rows and j + jj >= 0 and j + jj < cols):
                            count = count + 1 ;
                            temp = float(Im[i + ii,j + jj]) - float(Im[i,j])
                            f = max(min(1-abs(temp/width),1),0)
                            totf = totf + (f)

        t =  totf/9
        print(count)
        Ffactor[i,j] = t

        H[Im[i,j]] = H[Im[i,j]] + math.log2(t)**2
Hpdf =  H/np.sum(H)
#total = np.sum(H)
#for k in range(H.shape[0]):
 #   Hpdf[k] = H[k]/total

def FHE(Im,Ffactor ,Hpdf, lval, hval):
    Hcdf = np.cumsum(Hpdf)
    m=np.mean(Im,dtype=float)
    s=np.std(Im,dtype=float)

    delta = s/m

    for i in range(Im.shape[0]):
        for j in range(Im.shape[1]):
            temp = lval + round(( hval- lval) * Hcdf[Im[i,j]] )
            Im[i,j] = ((temp - float(Im[i,j])) * math.exp((-(Ffactor[i,j])**2)*1*delta) + Im[i,j])

    return Im

Imf = FHE(Im, Ffactor,Hpdf, 0, 10000)
Imf = Imf/10000
Imf = Imf*255
Imf = np.vectorize(round)(Imf)
CIm[:,:,2] = Imf;
Im_out = cv2.cvtColor(CIm, cv2.COLOR_HSV2BGR)
cv2.imshow('Original image',image)
cv2.imshow('equalised image', Im_out)

cv2.waitKey(0)
cv2.destroyAllWindows()

Source Image
processed Image
I don't get that why i am getting jigsaw puzzles in my processed image ??
I ran it with other pictures and it worked fine but with this particular picture it gives me this boxes everywhere and i can't figure out why ??
i was running original code of paper which was in matlab and it was better and worked fine without boxes.
I want to remove these boxes in my processed image pls check where fault lies in code.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Select a date from the calendar then click "GO!" to display an additional day of tide predictions for Whale Harbor Channel, Hwy 1 bridge, Windley Key, Florida.
Today: SSE wind 5 to 10 kt. Mostly sunny. Seas around 1 ft.
Tonight: ESE wind around 10 kt. Partly cloudy. Seas around 1 ft.
Friday: S wind around 10 kt becoming WSW in the afternoon. A slight chance of showers. Seas around 1 ft.
Friday Night: W wind around 10 kt. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Seas around 1 ft.
Sunday Night: E wind 5 to 10 kt. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Seas around 1 ft.
Monday: E wind around 10 kt. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Seas 1 to 2 ft.
Location: 25.027N 80.681W or 6 nautical miles NW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 24.918N 80.747W or 8 nautical miles W of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.087N 80.519W or 10 nautical miles NNE of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.072N 80.735W or 10 nautical miles NW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 24.982N 80.826W or 12 nautical miles WNW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.176N 80.633W or 14 nautical miles N of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.119N 80.834W or 16 nautical miles NW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.18N 80.49W or 16 nautical miles NNE of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.178N 80.438W or 17 nautical miles NNE of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.053N 80.904W or 17 nautical miles WNW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.213N 80.533W or 17 nautical miles NNE of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.217N 80.65W or 17 nautical miles N of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.214N 80.432W or 19 nautical miles NNE of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.235N 80.457W or 20 nautical miles NNE of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.203N 80.372W or 20 nautical miles NE of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.254N 80.444W or 21 nautical miles NNE of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.106N 80.942W or 21 nautical miles WNW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.289N 80.396W or 24 nautical miles NNE of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.232N 80.938W or 25 nautical miles NW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.284N 80.894W or 26 nautical miles NW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 24.711N 81.107W or 30 nautical miles WSW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.297N 81.013W or 31 nautical miles NW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 24.628N 81.109W or 33 nautical miles SW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.422N 80.942W or 34 nautical miles NNW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.41N 80.964W or 34 nautical miles NW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.378N 81.029W or 35 nautical miles NW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.352N 81.1W or 36 nautical miles NW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.2N 80W or 37 nautical miles ENE of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.478N 80.989W or 38 nautical miles NNW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.424N 81.06W or 38 nautical miles NW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.587N 81.044W or 45 nautical miles NNW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.556N 81.169W or 48 nautical miles NW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.731N 80.162W or 53 nautical miles NNE of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.702N 81.186W or 55 nautical miles NW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 25.71N 81.249W or 58 nautical miles NW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 24.556N 81.808W or 69 nautical miles WSW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 26.086N 80.116W or 74 nautical miles NNE of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 26.092N 80.109W or 74 nautical miles NNE of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 24.456N 81.877W or 75 nautical miles WSW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 24.407N 81.967W or 81 nautical miles WSW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 26.05N 81.701W or 89 nautical miles NW of 24.94N 80.61W.
Location: 26.132N 81.807W or 97 nautical miles NW of 24.94N 80.61W.
This Page Delivered 07:49:03 4/25/2019 .


text:
Home All News New York state dad builds 50-foot pirate ship in front yard for...
New York state dad builds 50-foot pirate ship in front yard for his daughter (Churchville, NY)
A New York state father took what has become a family tradition to a new level when he built a 50-foot-long pirate ship in his front yard in Churchville, NY outside Rochester.
Tony DeMatteo said he has since been building ships every year for Halloween, and this year's is the biggest yet at 50 feet long and 20 feet tall.
A few years back, DeMatteo's now 13-year-old daughter asked for a "Pirates of the Caribbean".
The whole project cost about $3,000 in supplies and took one week to build, he said.
New York pirate ship front lawn Churchville
It features a skeleton hanging from the bowsprit, six light-up cannons, a fog machine and fire blasters.
"I have no background in this, I just do it for fun for my kids, and that's what makes it so great," DeMatteo. "It's also been a rough year for a lot of people so we decided this would be a perfect opportunity to put a smile on people's face and just give them a sense of normalcy."
DeMatteo said he does not charge anyone to tour the ship, but visitors are asked to bring canned goods for Open Door Mission, a Rochester food pantry.
"We got so many donations that my garage was completely full, and they're still coming to this day," he said.
See the pirate ship (address)
15 Ambush Lane
15 Ambush Lane Churchville
Jack Sparrow's Cannibal Chair
New York state dad builds 50-foot pirate ship in front yard for his daughter (Churchville
Tony DeMatteo
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Next articleMother of God: Epic New 360-Foot Megayacht Has 4 Pools and a Beach Club With Waterfalls (released 2024)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Aimée Allen: "Winters & Mays"
Written by Rad Bennett
Azuline Music
Aimée Allen has law degrees from Columbia University and the Sorbonne in Paris and has pursued a career in music since she was very young. Now she's a practicing attorney by day and a jazz singer on the New York scene at night. She has a warm, honeyed voice, a singular sense of pitch, and a vivid imagination that lets her see such disparate songs as "Bye, Bye, Blackbird," and "It Could Happen to You" as a good performance pair. On Winters & Mays she sings covers of tunes like "Peel Me a Grape," "Two for the Road," and "Samba em Preludio," alternating between her own compositions and one by her brother, guitarist David Allen. For me, the best original is "That Day," which aptly describes the moment of falling in love as a life-changing experience. "Second Time Around" and "Stardust Reunited" also make for highly enjoyable listening. A lot of the music sways in a gentle bossa nova, with Allen's backup band showing its mettle. The recording is just close enough and very warm while retaining definition, but when accordionist Victor Prieto first joins the group on "Samba em Preludio," he sounds detached, as if he's in another audio world. This disconnect is odd because his other two appearances on the disc are well integrated with the other musicians.


In order to utilize VA education Benefits or Hazlewood Exemption at UNT Dallas, students must apply online for admissions, submit all required admissions documents to the Office of Admissions, attend New Student Orientation, and register for classes.
Submit required documents to the Veterans Success Center after registering for classes.
Submit all required documents together.
Fill out forms completely. Incomplete forms or fields left blank will cause delays in processing.
Inform the VA representative of any changes in enrollment, student status, or degree plan information.
Check your student email! Notifications about your certification will only be sent to your UNT Dallas student email.
Allow no less than 7-10 business days after document submission before contacting VA for payment information.
VA Processing times vary. In order to ensure timely payment of benefits students are encouraged to submit certification documents as soon as possible, prior to applicable deadlines, and to notify the Veterans Success Center of changes in student status or enrollment or degree program changes. Students are also encouraged to keep their contact information current via their my.untdallas.edu student portal.
The Hazlewood Act is a State of Texas benefit that provides qualified Veterans, spouses, and dependent children with an education benefit of up to 150 hours of tuition exemption, including most fee charges, at public institutions of higher education in Texas. For the most up to date eligibility requirements and a list of what to submit to the institution click here.


text:
// Copyright (c) Zolution Software Ltd. All rights reserved.
// Licensed under the MIT License, see LICENSE.txt in the solution root for license information

using System;
using System.Reflection;

namespace Rezolver.Compilation
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Extensions for the <see cref="ITargetCompiler"/> interface.
    /// </summary>
    public static class TargetCompilerExtensions
    {
        private static readonly MethodInfo CompileTargetGenericMethod = Extract.Method((ITargetCompiler c) => c.CompileTarget<object>(null, null)).GetGenericMethodDefinition();

        /// <summary>
        /// Performs a late-bound compilation of a strongly-typed delegate for the <paramref name="target" />.
        /// The type of the returned delegate will be <see cref="Func{T, TResult}" />, with `TResult` equal to
        /// the <see cref="ICompileContext.TargetType" /> of the <paramref name="context" />.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="compiler">The compiler.</param>
        /// <param name="target">The target.</param>
        /// <param name="context">The context.</param>
        /// <returns>A compiled delegate</returns>
        /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException">If any of <paramref name="compiler"/>, <paramref name="context"/> or <paramref name="target"/> are null.</exception>
        public static Delegate CompileTargetStrong(this ITargetCompiler compiler, ITarget target, ICompileContext context)
        {
            if (compiler == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(compiler));
            if (target == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(target));
            if (context == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(context));

            return (Delegate)CompileTargetGenericMethod.MakeGenericMethod(
                context.TargetType)
                .Invoke(compiler, new object[] { target, context });
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Compiles the <paramref name="target"/> by calling the
        /// <see cref="ITargetCompiler.CompileTarget(ITarget, ICompileContext)"/> method of the passed
        /// <paramref name="compiler"/>, passing an <see cref="ICompileContext"/> created first by calling
        /// its <see cref="ITargetCompiler.CreateContext(ResolveContext, ITargetContainer)"/> method.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="compiler">Required.  The compiler which will carry out the compilation</param>
        /// <param name="target">Required.  The target to be compiled.</param>
        /// <param name="resolveContext">Required.  The current <see cref="ResolveContext"/>.</param>
        /// <param name="targets">Required.  Used to locate dependencies during compilation.</param>
        /// <returns>A delegate representing the passed <paramref name="target"/>, ready to be executed
        /// to obtain an object which satisfies the <see cref="ResolveContext.RequestedType"/> in the
        /// <paramref name="resolveContext"/>.</returns>
        public static Func<ResolveContext, object> CompileTarget(this ITargetCompiler compiler,
            ITarget target,
            ResolveContext resolveContext,
            ITargetContainer targets)
        {
            if (compiler == null)
            {
                throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(compiler));
            }

            if (target == null)
            {
                throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(target));
            }

            if (resolveContext == default)
            {
                throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(resolveContext));
            }

            if (targets == null)
            {
                throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(targets));
            }

            return compiler.CompileTarget(target, compiler.CreateContext(resolveContext, targets));
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Strongly-typed version of <see cref="CompileTarget(ITargetCompiler, ITarget, ResolveContext, ITargetContainer)"/> when the
        /// <typeparamref name="TService"/> is known at compile-time.
        /// </summary>
        /// <typeparam name="TService">The type of object to be returned by the factory.S</typeparam>
        /// <param name="compiler">Required.  The compiler.</param>
        /// <param name="target">Required.  The target to be compiled.</param>
        /// <param name="resolveContext">Required.  The current <see cref="ResolveContext"/></param>
        /// <param name="targets">Required.  Used to locate dependencies during compilation.</param>
        /// <returns>A strongly-typed delegate representing the passed <paramref name="target"/>.
        /// Invoking this delegate should produce an instance of the type <typeparamref name="TService"/>.</returns>
        public static Func<ResolveContext, TService> CompileTarget<TService>(this ITargetCompiler compiler,
            ITarget target,
            ResolveContext resolveContext,
            ITargetContainer targets)
        {
            if (compiler == null)
            {
                throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(compiler));
            }

            if (target == null)
            {
                throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(target));
            }

            if (resolveContext == default)
            {
                throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(resolveContext));
            }

            if (targets == null)
            {
                throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(targets));
            }

            return compiler.CompileTarget<TService>(target, compiler.CreateContext(resolveContext, targets));
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Biology, Marine Essays and Research Papers
Recent publications in the Biology / Marine category
Climate Change and its Impact on Wildlife
A persuasive discussion on the harmful effects of climate change on wildlife.
# 153864 | 1,319 words | 4 sources | MLA | 2014 |
$19.95 Add to cart More information
Does the Law of the Sea Address Pollution of the Marine Environment?
This paper explores how the United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea addresses pollution of the marine environment.
The Similarities Between Dolphins and Humans
An analysis of the similarities between dolphins and humans.
# 153671 | 733 words | 8 sources | MLA | 2010
Conserving the Vaquita Species
An exploration of the vaquita, Phocoena sinus, a smallmarine Cetacean that is facing extinction.
# 153355 | 2,483 words | 9 sources | APA | 2012 |
Evolution of Jaws in Fish
A look at how fish have adapted to their environment.
# 151066 | 921 words | 3 sources | APA | 2012 |
The Impact of the Zebra Mussel in North America
A brief discussion on the invasive patterns and negative impacts of the zebra mussel in North America.
Do Primates Other Than Humans Swim?
A look at the non-human species that can swim.
The Role of the Phytoplankton in the Food Web
Looks at the decrease in potential food availability problem created by the decrease in phytoplankton in the ocean.
Constraints on Food Availability in the Deep Sea
A review of the internal and external factors affecting the availability of food in the deep-sea environment with special emphasis on the role of the effects of human activity.
# 148086 | 2,099 words | 44 sources | APA | 2011 |
Offshore Wind Farms and Marine Mammals
An analysis of the effects of noise pollution from offshore wind farms on marine mammals.


This is a series of three videos prepared by Kim Kuhlman, a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, USA. In these vides the full workflow to prepare a TEM specimen is presented; from deposition of a protective layer on the region of interest on the sample surface to the final TEM lamella polishing on the TEM grid. The process is perfomed using the TESCAN FIB-SEM LYRA3.
The first video demonstrates the roughing out of a lamella for a scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) specimen of orthopyroxyene (Opx). Orthopyroxene is a silicate mineral of interest in our space weathering experiments using low energy implantation of hydrogen and helium.
The second video demonstrates the lift-out procedure of the TEM lamella.
The third video demonstrates the welding of the TEM specimen lamella onto a TEM grid using platinum deposition and then thinning it to electron transparency.


text:
DWLS
Habitual Traffic Offender (HTO)
Points Suspension
Types of Crime
Drugs & Narcotics
Sealing and Expunction (Expungement)
Brandon Gans
Daveta Williams
Attorney Daveta Williams dedicates her practice of law to defending criminal cases and ensuring that every case is resolved diligently and with zeal. She truly believes that everyone deserves justice.
Attorney Williams is native to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In 2010, she relocated to Tallahassee, Florida where she obtained dual Bachelor of Science degrees in both Criminal Justice and Psychology at the Florida State University.
In 2014, Attorney Williams relocated to the greater Orlando area to pursue her legal education at the Florida A&M University ("FAMU"), College of Law. While attending FAMU College of Law, Attorney Williams became involved with the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity. This allowed her to follow her philanthropic passion, serving as Community Service Chair. Her career passion to defend all led to multiple internships in personal injury, juvenile, and criminal law.
After law school, Attorney Daveta Williams served as a lawyer with the Office of the Public Defender of the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida. She has proven results in investigating and researching factual basis of cases, arguing motions, conducting depositions, and litigation of juvenile, misdemeanor, and felony cases. Attorney Williams handled a large caseload while negotiating with prosecutors and communicating with clients in preparation for trial.
When she's not in court or in the office, Attorney Williams enjoys family time, traveling, and volunteering her service in both Greater Orlando and her hometown of Fort Lauderdale. She lives by the quote, "Lose yourself in generous service and every day can be a most unusual day, a triumphant day, an abundantly rewarding day!" William Arthur Ward
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The warehouse associate is the engine that drives the distribution team. They receive, pick, pack, and stow product; they drive forklifts, cherry pickers, and pallet jacks; and they are responsible for the safety of themselves and the people around them. Staffmark is partnering with a hardware company to fill a warehouse associate position in their facility in Holiday City, OH. We are seeking a hard-working and dedicated individual who has the drive to excel in this role. Apply today at www.mystaffmark.com, and let's get to work.
Ideal candidates should have a positive attitude, be open to instruction, be able to stand for duration of the shift, and follow all safety procedures.


The Okoto Value (Estimated Website Worth) of bikertrashnetwork.com is $54,427.68. This value has been generated using our proprietary valuation engine, after weighing relevant data from a variety of sources. The values (and algorithm employed to created these values) that we have created are continually updated and improved, so please check back often!
Bikertrashnetwork.com and has been online for 6 years and 9 months, having been first created on July 13,2012. Bikertrashnetwork.com is currently owned by Domains By Proxy, LLC. Bikertrashnetwork.com has 27 active links (however, keep in mind, due to timing and the fact that most data sources do not give a complete count of links this number is likely lower than the true number of links).
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Want To Invest In A Small Part Of Lubbock's Newest Coffee Addiction?
Lance Ballance Published: August 23, 2021
Justin Massoud, Townsquare Media Lubbock
Without question, one of the brightest spots in the Lubbock beverage scene has been the rise of Dutch Bros. It's rare when the lines at the popular drive-thru coffee stand aren't at least 7-8 cars deep, especially at the 19th Street location, but it moves fast, and the drinks are amazeballs. I think I've used my Dutch Bros app more in the past month than Google Maps.
Image: Lance Ballance-Townsquare Media
As you can see...I'm a big fan of that Electric Berry Lemonade on a hot day. Even though I've had some misunderstandings with the Dutch Bros Social Media Team (Right, Chad?) I'm a fan, and had hoped that there would be a way to invest in the company without using my Dutch App.
Well, armchair investors, your wait is coming to an end soon.
Dutch Bros Coffee to offer stock to the public
This past Friday, Dutch Bros announced their Initial Public Offering (IPO), in which they announced that the company was planning on raising $100 Million for future expansion and current locations. They will ultimately trade under the stock symbol "BROS", which may be the coolest stock symbol, ever.
The chain, which started as a coffee pushcart in Grants Pass, Oregon in 1992, has 471 locations and has expressed the desire to expand to an estimated 4,000 locations at some point. That's serious expansion, and one can hope that they don't get "too big" for their own good. Remember Krispy Kreme? Yeah...that worked out back in the 90's.
With 2 locations in Lubbock, Dutch has stated that they plan on adding more locations in short order. My first thought would be anywhere near the Texas Tech campus, and also South Lubbock, below 98th somewhere. Gotta fish where the fish are, right?
Now, if you'll excuse me, it's Electric Berry lemonade time...
What Are the Signature Drinks From Every State?
12 New Places to Eat in Lubbock
Filed Under: Dutch Bros, Investing


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Coronavirus: "biggest threat in decades" as deaths rise and worse to come – BBC News
Latest video updates regarding Coronavirus. Watch this "Coronavirus: "biggest threat in decades" as deaths rise and worse to come – BBC News" video below:
There's been another big rise in the number of people who have died from coronavirus in the UK – 563 in the last 24 hours. The government has said it's the biggest threat to the country in decades and worse is to come. Most of the cases are in London but NHS England says the threat is everywhere and the growing number of hospital admissions in the Midlands is now a cause for concern. Nearly a million people have applied for universal credit benefits in the past fortnight – almost 10 times the usual number. Meanwhile there's been more criticism that the government hasn't acted fast enough to increase testing for Coronavirus. Sophie Raworth presents BBC News at Ten reports by Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg, Economics Editor Faisal Islam and Health Editor Hugh Pym.
Please subscribe HERE ..(read more)
Filed Under: Covid 19 Videos
Categories: Covid 19 Videos


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Q: Is Perl code mainly written in object-oriented-design? Since there is for almost everything a module and it is repeatedly said that we should not reinvent the wheel and since I do not write modules for CPAN I have no need to use OO.
But my question is, is professional Perl code mainly written in OO-style?

A: In short, only if you want code-reusability and readability; for writing simple system scripts or code to perform one task, then it's kind of a waste, especially if it's the kind of thing that's not going to be well-documented. When writing a complex program, for example, it really helps to organize one's thoughts and to modularize the problem by writing a series of, well, modules. The benefits of using object-orientation increase exponentially when working on a project with more than one developer.

A: I see OOP primarily as a way to bind and set of behaviors to a data structure.  Any time my data structures look like they will get complicated, I compose objects.
This helps to centralize and abstract the code related to manipulating the data.  Which in turn reduces duplicated code and simplifies refactoring.  The same things could be achieved using purely procedural code.  I find that OOP makes the relationship explicit and easier to conceptualize in an intuitive way.
Consider this structure:
my $foo = {
    meezle => [qw( a d g e l z )],
    twill  => {
        prat => 'qua',
        nolk => 'roo',
    },
    chaw => 7,
    mubb => [ 123, 423,756, 432 ],
    ertet => 'geflet',
};

When I wind up with a struct like this (nested and non-uniform), I start thinking "object".  I get certain when I find myself writing lots of code to access, modify and validate data in the structure.
Since most non-trivial projects require non-trivial data manipulations, I use objects for at least some part of most jobs.
I may or may not go all-out in my OOP.  Usually there are a few things that aren't objects.  There may or may not be an application base class.  Some elements may be handled as normal procedural code.  Some may include functional approaches.  It all depends on what makes sense given the requirements of the project.
The most important thing to remember is that your code must be clear to the poor schmuck tasked with maintaining it.  (It could be you in 6 months, newly wakened from a deep 4am, sleep, with your boss's boss's boss screaming at you to fix the damn software before the company is bankrupted.)

A: Most of the Perl code I write is small-size scripts and I never use OOP for them, even if they use CPAN modules that are OOP-designed.  For the larger code projects, I tend toward OOP about 70% of the time but it depends: is the code going to be used for a long time? If it's likely to stick around and many users will be dipping their spoons in the mix, OOP is probably a better design.

A: OO-Design is not a "silver bullet".  There is no harm in writing code that is not-OO.  It's just the "popular" choice.  As someone once said (and I paraphrase):
OO-design simply had a better marketing group

This is just stemming from the fact that people believe "most code" should be OO.  Of course, you can keep track of state "internally in an object", but it'll also get people doing silly things inside of the object that make things more complicated too.
My problem is with "most code written in OO".  I believe there should be a healthy balance between Objects and Functions.  Functions can operate on Objects.
There are plenty of things that don't lend themselves to objects very well.

A: If you are Writing a simple script to do some relatively simple processing, file modification etc. its ok to go with a non OO design  but in my experience if your script is going to be around longer and is potentially doing things that you may one day want to reuse in another script or in a different context than what you planned for its best to go with the OO approach. In general its also much easier to scale and enhance an OO based design.
Especially when it comes to representation of data of any kind. Once you've written a class to represent that data, it is very convenient to add useful methods to that data class(such as display, check, analyze, reset, write to file, load from file etc.).
This also has a positive side-effect of making your scripts much less verbose and easy to read and maintain since a lot of the details of operation on the data are left to the class methods. If you are dealing with large sets of data its also a lot easier to deal with arrays of objects rather than with hashes which you will probably end up using a lot if you dont have an OO design.
In the future if you have to write a script to process the same data in a different way, you can simply reuse the data classes in a different script. If your data happens to be a little different so that you need to add more fields or more methods. no problem simply extend the original data class.
The best reference for learning OO Perl that I've found is : Object Oriented Perl: A Comprehensive Guide to Concepts and Programming Techniques by Damian Conway. One of the things I struggled with when I started to do OO Perl is that there are so many different ways to do it. Eventually I just settled on one and have stuck with it over the years.


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Battlefield America: The War on the American People
Interviews, Reviews and Praise for Battlefield America
A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State
Praise for A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State by John W. Whitehead
About John W. Whitehead
John W. Whitehead, Constitutional Attorney
President of The Rutherford Institute, Author of 'Battlefield America' and 'A Government of Wolves'
Whitehead's NEW Book: Battlefield America
A Government of Wolves
Posts Tagged 'florida v. jardines'
Gutting the Fourth Amendment's Presumption of Innocence, U.S. Supreme Court Allows Warrantless Collection of DNA by Police in 5-4 Ruling
Posted: June 3, 2013 in Uncategorized
Tags: blood samples, civil liberties, criminal behavior, criminalization, drug-sniffing dogs, florida v. harris, florida v. jardines, fourth amendment, injustice, Miranda warnings, police, police state, prison, supreme court, u.s. supreme court
In a devastating ruling handed down in Maryland v. King, a divided U.S. Supreme Court has approved the practice by police of forcefully obtaining DNA samples from individuals arrested for serious crimes, even though they are presumed innocent, without first obtaining a search warrant.
Any American who thinks they're safe from the threat of DNA sampling, blood draws, and roadside strip and/or rectal or vaginal searches simply because they've 'done nothing wrong,' needs to wake up to the new reality in which we're now living. As the Supreme Court's ruling in Maryland v. King shows, the mindset of those in the highest seats of power—serving on the courts, in the White House, in Congress—is a utilitarian one that has little regard for the Constitution, let alone the Fourth Amendment. Like Justice Scalia, all I can hope is that "today's incursion upon the Fourth Amendment" will someday be repudiated.
As Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the dissent, points out, the Court's ruling succeeds only in burdening "the sole group for whom the Fourth Amendment's protections ought to be most jealously guarded: people who are innocent of the State's accusations." Moreover, if such a dubious practice were to prevail simply for the sake of "solving more crimes," as Scalia suggests, it would not take much to justify the "taking of DNA samples from anyone who flies on an airplane (surely the Transportation Security Administration needs to know the "identity" of the flying public), applies for a driver's license, or attends a public school."
In 2009, Maryland police arrested Alonzo Jay King Jr. on charges of assault. Relying on a state law which authorizes DNA collection from people arrested but not yet convicted of a crime, police carried out a cheek swab on King to obtain his DNA profile without first procuring a warrant. The DNA sample was then matched up against a database which identified him as having allegedly been involved in a 2003 rape. King was then convicted of the 2003 crime. On appeal, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled in April 2012 that the state law violated the Fourth Amendment. In an unusual move, in July 2012, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a stay of the lower court's ruling, prior to the Court's even agreeing to hear the case, using the rationale that collecting DNA from people accused of serious crimes is "an important feature of day-to-day law enforcement practice in approximately half the states and the federal government."
In agreeing to hear the case, the Supreme Court was asked to determine whether the Fourth Amendment allowed law enforcement officials to collect DNA from people who have merely been arrested and so are presumed innocent. Yet the Court's subsequent 5-4 ruling which equates forcefully obtaining a DNA sample to "fingerprinting and photographing, a legitimate police booking procedure that is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment," further guts an already severely disemboweled Fourth Amendment. Justices Anthony Kennedy, John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer and Samuel Alito affirmed the practice of warrantless DNA grabs by the police. Issuing a strongly worded dissent were Justices Antonin Scalia, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
The Supreme Court's ruling in Maryland v. King is available at http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-207_d18e.pdf.
For more on these issues, read my new book A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State which paints a chilling portrait of a nation in the final stages of transformation into a police state, complete with surveillance cameras, drug-sniffing dogs, SWAT team raids, roadside strip searches, blood draws at DUI checkpoints, mosquito drones, tasers, privatized prisons, GPS tracking devices, zero tolerance policies, overcriminalization, and free speech zones.
Governmental Highway Robbery: Asset Forfeiture and the Pillaging of the American People
Tags: asset forfeiture, bounty hunter, civil forfeiture, civil liberties, colonists, confiscated property, Constitution, DEA, Declaration of Independence, drug-sniffing dogs, federal government, Fifth Amendment, florida v. harris, florida v. jardines, highway robbery, Institute for Justice, police, property, pursuit of happiness, Reason magazine, Russell Caswell, u.s. supreme court, War on Drugs
"This is the problem when police officers and police departments have a financial interest in doing their job. We got rid of bounty hunters because they were not a good thing. This is modern day bounty hunting."—Public Defender John Rekowski
Long before Americans charted their revolutionary course in pursuit of happiness, it was "life, liberty, and property" which constituted the golden triad of essential rights that the government was charged with respecting and protecting. To the colonists, smarting from mistreatment at the hands of the British crown, protecting their property from governmental abuse was just as critical as preserving their lives and liberties. As the colonists understood, if the government can arbitrarily take away your property, you have no true rights. You're nothing more than a serf or a slave.
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was born of this need to safeguard against any attempt by the government to unlawfully deprive a citizen of the right to life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. Little could our ancestral forebears have imagined that it would take less than three centuries of so-called "independence" to once again render us brow-beaten subjects in bondage to an overlord bent on depriving us of our most inalienable and fundamental rights.
The latest governmental scheme to deprive Americans of their liberties—namely, the right to property—is being carried out under the guise of civil asset forfeiture, a government practice wherein government agents (usually the police) seize private property they "suspect" may be connected to criminal activity. Then—and here's the kicker—whether or not any crime is actually proven to have taken place, the government keeps the citizen's property, often divvying it up with the local police who did the initial seizure.
For example, the federal government recently attempted to confiscate Russell Caswell's family-owned Tewksbury, Massachusetts, motel, insisting that because a small percentage of the motel's guests had been arrested for drug crimes—15 out of 200,000 visitors in a 14-year span—the motel was a dangerous property. As Reason reports:
This cruel surprise was engineered by Vincent Kelley, a forfeiture specialist at the Drug Enforcement Administration who read about the Motel Caswell in a news report and found that the property, which the Caswells own free and clear, had an assessed value of $1.3 million. So Kelley approached the Tewksbury Police Department with an "equitable sharing" deal: The feds would seize the property and sell it, and the cops would get up to 80 percent of the proceeds.
Thankfully, with the help of a federal judge, Caswell managed to keep his motel out of the government's clutches, but others are not so fortunate. One couple in Anaheim, Calif., is presently battling to retain ownership of their $1.5 million office building after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration filed an asset-forfeiture lawsuit against them because one of their tenants allegedly sold $37 in medical marijuana to an undercover agent.
Some states are actually considering expanding the use of asset forfeiture laws to include petty misdemeanors. This would mean that property could be seized in cases of minor crimes such as harassment, possession of small amounts of marijuana, and trespassing in a public park after dark.
As the Institute for Justice points out:
Civil forfeiture laws represent one of the most serious assaults on private property rights in the nation today. Under civil forfeiture, police and prosecutors can seize your car or other property, sell it and use the proceeds to fund agency budgets—all without so much as charging you with a crime. Unlike criminal forfeiture, where property is taken after its owner has been found guilty in a court of law, with civil forfeiture, owners need not be charged with or convicted of a crime to lose homes, cars, cash or other property.
Americans are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, but civil forfeiture turns that principle on its head. With civil forfeiture, your property is guilty until you prove it innocent.
Relying on the topsy-turvy legal theory that one's property can not only be guilty of a crime but is guilty until proven innocent, government agencies have eagerly cashed in on this revenue scheme, often under the pretext of the War on Drugs. By asserting that someone's personal property, a building or a large of amount of cash for example, is tied to an illegal activity, the government—usually, the police—then confiscates the property for its own uses, and it's up to the property owner to jump through a series of legal hoops to prove that the property was obtained legally.
Despite the fact that 80 percent of these asset forfeiture cases result in no charge against the property owner, challenging these "takings" in court can cost the owner more than the value of the confiscated property itself. As a result, most property owners either give up the fight or chalk the confiscation up to government corruption, leaving the police and other government officials to reap the benefits. For example, under a federal equitable sharing program, police turn cases over to federal agents who process seizures and then return 80% of the proceeds to the police.
Asset forfeitures can certainly be lucrative for cash-strapped agencies and states. In the fiscal year ending September 2012, the federal government seized $4.2 billion in assets, a dramatic increase from the $1.7 billion seized the year before. Between 2004 and 2008, police in Jim Wells County, Texas seized over $1.5 million. The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. collected $358,000 from civil forfeiture in fiscal year 2011, and $529,000 from federal equitable sharing. The State Attorney's Office in Madison County, Illinois, made $500,000 from asset forfeiture over the course of eight years.
Often, these governmental property grabs take the form of highway robbery (literally), where police officers extract money, jewelry, and other property from unsuspecting motorists during routine traffic stops. As Mother Jones quips, "forfeiture corridors are the new speed traps." Indeed, states such as Texas, Tennessee, and Indiana are among the worst offenders. Mother Jones continues:
You all know what a speed trap is, right? If you have a highway running through your small town, you can make a lot of money by ticketing out-of-state drivers who are going one or two miles per hour over the speed limit. How many victims are going to waste time trying to fight it, after all? But have you heard about "forfeiture corridors"? That's a little different — and quite a bit more lucrative. All you have to do is pull over an out-of-state driver for supposedly making an unsafe lane change, have your police dog sniff around for a bit of marijuana residue, and then use civil asset forfeiture laws to impound any cash you might find. Apparently it's especially popular on highways leading into and out of casino towns.
In typical fashion, these police traps tend to prey on minorities and the poor, as well as undocumented immigrants and individuals who happen to have large amounts of cash on hand, even for lawful reasons. One such person is Jerome Chennault, who fell prey to Madison County, Illinois' forfeiture corridor in September 2010. En route to Nevada after a visit with his son, Chennault was pulled over by police for allegedly following another car too closely. When police asked to sweep Chennault's car with a drug dog, Chennault obliged, believing that he had done nothing wrong and had nothing to hide and completely unaware that he had fallen into a forfeiture trap.
During the search, the drug dog alerted on a black bag in the back seat of the car which contained about $22,000 in cash. The money, Chennault explained, was intended for a down payment on a home. The dog did not find any drugs in the car, nor was there any evidence of criminal activity. However, instead of letting Chennault go on his way with a traffic citation, the police confiscated the cash, claiming that since the drug dog alerted to it, it must have been used in the commission of a drug crime. Chennault challenged the seizure in court, after months spent traveling to and from Illinois on his own dime, and eventually succeeded in having his money returned, although the state refused to compensate him for his legal and travel expenses.
Tenaha, Texas, is a particular hotbed of highway forfeiture activity, so much so that police officers keep pre-signed, pre-notarized documents on hand so they can fill in what property they are seizing. Between 2006 and 2008, for instance, Tenaha police seized roughly $3 million.
As Roderick Daniels discovered, it doesn't take much to get pulled over in a forfeiture corridor like Tenaha's. Daniels was stopped in October 2007 for allegedly traveling 37 mph in a 35 mph zone. He was ordered to hand over his jewelry and the $8,500 in cash he had with him to purchase a new car. When he resisted, he was taken to jail, threatened with money-laundering charges and "persuaded" to sign a waiver forfeiting his property in order to avoid the charges.
In an even more egregious case, Jennifer Boatright and Ron Henderson, an interracial couple travelling through Tenaha, were forced to forfeit the $6,000 cash they had with them to buy another car when police threatened to turn their young children over to Child Protective Services. Another traveler, Maryland resident Amanee Busbee, was also threatened with losing her child to CPS after police stopped her, her fiancé and his business partner when they were en route to Houston with $50,000 to complete the purchase of a restaurant. Boatright and Busbee were eventually able to reclaim their money after mounting legal challenges.
Comparing police forfeiture operations to criminal shakedowns, journalist Radley Balko paints a picture of a government so corrupt as to render the Constitution null and void:
Police in some jurisdictions have run forfeiture operations that would be difficult to distinguish from criminal shakedowns. Police can pull motorists over, find some amount of cash or other property of value, claim some vague connection to illegal drug activity and then present the motorists with a choice: If they hand over the property, they can be on their way. Otherwise, they face arrest, seizure of property, a drug charge, a probable night in jail, the hassle of multiple return trips to the state or city where they were pulled over, and the cost of hiring a lawyer to fight both the seizure and the criminal charge. It isn't hard to see why even an innocent motorist would opt to simply hand over the cash and move on.
In an age in which the actions of the police—militarized extensions of the government—are repeatedly sanctioned by the legislatures and the courts, hard-won concessions such as the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling in Florida v. Jardines that the use of drug-sniffing dogs to carry out warrantless searches of homes is unconstitutional comes as little comfort. After all, it was not long ago that this very same court sanctioned the use of drug-sniffing dogs in roadside stops, a practice that has proven extremely profitable for law enforcement officials tasked with policing the nation's forfeiture corridors. — John W. Whitehead
Walking Narrow Line, U.S. Supreme Court Declares Use of Drug-Sniffing Dogs by Police to Carry Out Warrantless Searches of Homes Unconstitutional
Tags: civil liberties, Congress, Constitution, criminal behavior, drug-sniffing dogs, drugs, florida v. harris, florida v. jardines, fourth amendment, injustice, marijuana, Miranda warnings, police, private property, search warrant, strip searches, supreme court, the rutherford institute
Walking a narrow line, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 in Florida v. Jardines that the use of drug-sniffing dogs by police to carry out warrantless searches of homes is unconstitutional.
In keeping with the Court's recent decision in Florida v. Harris, in which the justices ruled unanimously that police may use drug dogs to conduct warrantless searches during traffic stops, the Court did not address the question of whether a drug dog's sniff constitutes a violation of one's reasonable expectation of privacy. Instead, the Court ruled that an officer bringing a drug-sniffing dog to the front of a home without a warrant constitutes an unconstitutional invasion of private property.
In an age in which the police can probe, poke, pinch, taser, search, seize, strip and generally manhandle anyone they see fit in almost any circumstance, all with the general blessing of the courts, it's difficult to really celebrate this ruling given that it basically just gives a head nod to the Fourth Amendment. What we are experiencing today is a slow death by a thousand cuts, only it's the Fourth Amendment being inexorably bled to death. It remains to be seen whether today's ruling by the Supreme Court proves to be little more than a band-aid fix to a rapidly worsening condition.
Florida v. Jardines arose out of an incident that took place in November 2006, when Miami police responded to an "anonymous" tip that marijuana was being grown at the residence of Joelis Jardines. After police surveillance of the Jardines home failed to reveal any incriminating evidence, the police brought in a drug-sniffing dog and handler to inspect the property at 7:30 a.m. The police handler walked the dog up to the front door on a leash and the dog allegedly "alerted" to the scent of contraband, which was reported to the investigating police who also approached the door and allegedly smelled marijuana. Using this information, the police obtained a warrant to search the Jardines residence, resulting in the seizure of marijuana plants.
In court, Jardines' lawyer moved to suppress the evidence obtained under the warrant, insisting that the warrant itself was invalid because of its reliance on the alert by the drug-sniffing dog. On appeal, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the use of detection dogs at private residences raises significant privacy concerns. The U.S. Supreme Court, having ruled in previous cases that dog sniffs do not constitute "searches" for purposes of the Fourth Amendment, agreed to review the state court decision.
In weighing in on the matter, The Rutherford Institute had asked the Supreme Court to declare the warrantless use of drug-sniffing dogs in both scenarios, searches of homes and vehicles, to be unconstitutional in violation of the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. In an amicus curiae brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in Florida v. Jardines, Institute attorneys cited mounting empirical evidence that narcotics detection dogs are unreliable and inaccurate, pointing out that both anecdotal evidence and research show that dogs frequently signal false alerts and show sensitivity to handler bias. Institute attorneys also pointed out that the amount of time it takes for the dogs to carry out a detection sniff on the perimeter of a private residence constitutes a trespass under Fourth Amendment jurisprudence.
The Court ruled unanimously in a similar case, Florida v. Harris, that police officers may use drug-sniffing dogs to conduct warrantless searches of cars during routine traffic stops. — John W. Whitehead
The U.S. Supreme Court: Architects of the American Police State
Tags: Aldo, civil liberties, civil rights, Constitution, drugs, Florence v. Burlington, florida v. harris, florida v. jardines, fourth amendment, injustice, Kentucky v. King, marijuana, police, police dogs, police state, SCOTUS, strip searches, supreme court
"The unspoken power dynamics in a police/civilian encounter will generally favor the police, unless the civilian is a local sports hero, the mayor, or a giant who is impervious to bullets."—Journalist Justin Peters
From time to time throughout history, individuals have been subjected to charges (and eventual punishment) by accusers whose testimony was treated as infallible and inerrant. Once again, we find ourselves repeating history, only this time, it's the police whose testimony is too often considered beyond reproach and whose accusations have the power to render one's life over.
In the police state being erected around us, the police can probe, poke, pinch, taser, search, seize, strip and generally manhandle anyone they see fit in almost any circumstance, all with the general blessing of the courts. Making matters worse, however, police dogs—cute, furry, tail-wagging mascots with a badge—have now been elevated to the ranks of inerrant, infallible sanctimonious accusers with the power of the state behind them. This is largely due to the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Florida v. Harris, in which a unanimous Court declared roadside stops to be Constitution-free zones where police may search our vehicles based upon a hunch and the presence of a frisky canine.
This is what one would call a slow death by a thousand cuts, only it's the Fourth Amendment being inexorably bled to death. This latest wound, in which a unanimous Supreme Court determined that police officers may use drug-sniffing dogs to conduct warrantless searches of cars during routine traffic stops, comes on the heels of recent decisions by the Court that give police the green light to taser defenseless motorists, strip search non-violent suspects arrested for minor incidents, and break down people's front doors without evidence that they have done anything wrong.
These are the hallmarks of the emerging American police state, where police officers, no longer mere servants of the people entrusted with keeping the peace, are part of an elite ruling class dependent on keeping the masses corralled, under control, and treated like suspects and enemies rather than citizens. Whether it's police officers breaking through people's front doors and shooting them dead in their homes or strip searching innocent motorists on the side of the road, in a police state such as ours, these instances of abuse are not condemned by the government. Rather, they are continually validated by a judicial system that kowtows to every police demand, no matter how unjust, no matter how in opposition to the Constitution.
The justices of the United States Supreme Court through their deference to police power, preference for security over freedom, and evisceration of our most basic rights for the sake of order and expediency have become the architects of the American police state.
In Florida v. Harris, for example, the Court was presented with the case of Clayton Harris who, in 2006, was pulled over by Officer William Wheetley for having an expired license tag. During the stop, Wheetley decided that Harris was acting suspicious and requested to search his vehicle. Harris refused, so Wheetley brought out his drug-sniffing dog, Aldo, to walk around Harris' car. Aldo allegedly alerted to the door handle of Harris' car, leading Wheetley to search the vehicle.
Although the search of Harris' car did not turn up any of the drugs which Aldo was actually trained to detect, such as marijuana, Wheetley found pseudophedrine, a common ingredient in cold medicine, and other materials allegedly used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Harris was arrested and released on bail, during which time he was again stopped by Officer Wheetley and again subjected to a warrantless search of his vehicle based upon Aldo's alert, but this time Wheetley found nothing.
Harris challenged the search, arguing that the police had not provided sufficient evidence that Aldo was a reliable drug-sniffing dog, thus his supposed alert on Harris' door did not give the officer probable cause to search the vehicle. The Florida Supreme Court agreed, ruling that police should be able to prove that the dog actually has a track record of finding drugs while in the field before it is used as an excuse for a warrantless search.
Unfortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court did not see it that way. In reversing the Florida Supreme Court's ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with police by claiming that all that the police need to do to prove probable cause for a search is simply assert that a drug detection dog has received proper training. As such, the Court has now given the police free reign to use dogs as "search warrants on leashes," justifying any and all police searches of vehicles stopped on the roadside. The ruling turns man's best friend into an extension of the police state.
The Supreme Court's decision is particularly alarming when one considers that drug sniffing dogs, even expertly trained dogs with reliable handlers, are rarely accurate. One study demonstrated that dogs were incorrect in drug identification up to 60% of the time. A 2011 study published in Animal Cognition involved a series of tests, some designed to fool the dog and some designed to fool the handler. The dogs in these tests falsely alerted 123 out of a total of 144 times. When a test was designed to fool the handler rather than the dog, the dog was twice as likely to falsely alert.
As the Animal Cognition study shows, dogs are heavily influenced by the behavior and biases of their handlers. If an officer thinks he is likely to find something, whether due to personal bias or because he finds the suspect suspicious, he often cues his dog—consciously or unconsciously—to alert on the area to be searched.
The Supreme Court has now given the police free reign to use dogs as "search warrants on leashes," justifying any and all police searches of vehicles stopped on the roadside. The Court's ruling in Florida v. Harris turns man's best friend into an extension of the police state.
Despite being presented with numerous reports documenting flaws in the use of drug-detection dogs, the U.S. Supreme Court opted to ignore plentiful evidence that drug dog alerts are specious at best. Moreover, the justices also chose to interpret Aldo's failure to detect any of the drugs he was trained to find during the two sniff searches around Harris' car as proof of Aldo's superior sniffing skills rather than glaring proof that drug-sniffing dogs do make mistakes. Incredibly, the Court suggested that the dog alert was due to Aldo having smelled an odor that was transferred to the car door after the defendant used methamphetamine—a supposition that is nearly impossible to prove.
Law enforcement officials have come up with a slew of clever excuses to "explain" the not uncommon phenomenon of dogs that alert but fail to uncover drugs. For example, in 2008, U.S. border patrol agent Christopher Jbara claimed that a dog alerted to a car containing no drugs because the car's window "had been washed by a window washer on the street… and the water used to clean it could have been contaminated with bong water." The real reason may be that the odors which dogs are trained to detect are simply chemical compositions found in a number of common products. For example, to a dog, perfume may smell like cocaine, glue may smell like heroin, and mosquito repellant may smell like the drug ecstasy.
Unfortunately, the Supreme Court's decision is merely the latest in a long line of abuses justified by an institution concerned more with establishing order and protecting government agents than with upholding the rights enshrined in the Constitution. For example, in 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in Kentucky v. King that police may smash down doors of homes or apartments without a warrant when in search of illegal drugs which they suspect might be destroyed. Despite the fact that police busted in on the wrong suspect in the wrong apartment, the Court sanctioned the warrantless raid, saying that police had acted lawfully and that was all that mattered.
In April 2012, a divided Supreme Court ruled in Florence v. Burlington that any person who is arrested and processed at a jail house, regardless of the severity of his or her offense (i.e., they can be guilty of nothing more than a minor traffic offense), can be subjected to a strip search by police or jail officials, which involves exposing the genitals and the buttocks.
This "license to probe" is being extended to roadside stops, as police officers throughout the country have begun performing roadside strip searches without any evidence of wrongdoing and without a warrant. For example, Angel Dobbs and her niece, who were pulled over by a Texas state trooper on July 13, 2012, allegedly for flicking cigarette butts out of the car window, were subjected to roadside cavity searches of their anus and vagina. The officer claimed to be searching for marijuana. No marijuana was found.
With case after case stacking up in which the courts empower the police to run roughshod over citizens' rights, the Constitution be damned, the outlook is decidedly grim. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court still has to rule on another drug-sniffing, dog-related case, Florida v. Jardines, which challenges warrantless searches of individuals' homes based on questionable dog alerts. For those hoping that our rights will be restored or at least protected, you could have a long wait.
Indeed, the next decision from the Supreme Court might just take the Fourth Amendment down for the count. — John W. Whitehead


text:
1961 Cup Run Menu
SCOTTISH CUP REPLAY - THE BUILD UP
By Brian Donovan
Just as the Pars were hit before the first game, losing winger Tommy McDonald through appendicitis, Celtic were similarly hit on the eve of the replay, when fullback Jim Kennedy was rushed to hospital, suffering from the same complaint.
Manager Stein was forced to make two changes to the team that played on the Saturday. George Miller was moved to centre-half in place of the injured Jackie Williamson, with John Sweeney coming into the left back position. Charlie Dickson moved to inside-left, with David Thomson playing at centre-forward.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Eddie Connachan, who had so far not conceded a goal in 360 minutes of cup games, worked his shift in the coalmine, on the Monday and Tuesday before the replay.
SCOTTISH CUP REPLAY v CELTIC - MATCH REPORT
Wednesday 26th April 1961
Celtic (0) 0 Dunfermline Athletic (0) 2
Due to the lack of floodlighting at Hampden Park, the replay kicked off at 6:15pm. Dunfermline won the toss, but the first action of the game fell to Celtic's Willie Fernie, whose shot went narrowly past.
In 2 minutes, Frank Haffey the Celtic goalkeeper ran out to near the corner flag to collect a loose ball, but instead of gathering it safely, the ball ran loose, and with Pars players closing in, O'Neil had to be alert to clear the danger, as Haffey sprinted 30 yards back to his goal. Two minutes later, following good work by Pat Crerand and Gallagher, Crerand had a shot on target which Connachan saved.
After 12 minutes, Crerand hit a drive that narrowly went over the bar. Five minutes later, Dunfermline had an excellent chance, following a Peebles free-kick, but a prostrate Dave Thomson could only scoop the ball past from 6 yards. Haffey then had to look lively to clear a Cunningham free-kick. On the half hour mark, Celtic centre-forward John Hughes succeeded in getting the ball in the net, but he was clearly in an offside position. This scare acted as a spur to Dunfermline, who upped the pace of the game. As half time approached, Hughes had another excellent opportunity when he headed narrowly past.
One minute into the second half, and following a clash between Hughes and Fraser, the Celtic forward had his name taken by Mr Phllips. Dunfermline then had an excellent opportunity to take the lead, but Haffey brought off a great save from a Dickson header. The ball then found itself at the other end, where Connachan pulled off an equally good save from a Fernie header.
There was a let off for the Pars in 49 minutes when from a Gallagher free-kick, Willie Fernie headed past when scoring would have been the easier option.
Seven minutes into the second half and Connachan made a wonder save from a thunderous Fernie shot, which took a deflection on the way. It seemed as if there was no way that the keeper was going to be beaten. One minute later, and Hughes watched in despair as his shot from 8 yards was saved by Connachan. In the ensuing melee, the Glasgow team had a strong claim for a penalty kick turned down.
Then in 67 minutes, Dunfermline opened the scoring. George Peebles, who up until then had been operating on the right, switched to the left, and after charging past Celtic full-back Duncan MacKay, delivered a cross into the centre. The ball took a touch from a Celtic head, and there unmarked in the middle of the penalty box, was Dave Thomson, whose powerful header gave Haffey no chance.
With Celtic pushing forward in numbers, Connachan produced another top drawer save in 75 minutes. With time running out, Connachan produced the save of the match. From a Celtic corner kick, the ball found its way out to the edge of the penalty box, and after several blocked attempts, Pat Crerand met the ball cleanly and drove towards goal. His shot looked netbound all the way, but Eddie sprang to his side to somehow pull the ball out of the air. A tremendous save.
With just 2 minutes remaining, Dunfermline increased their lead. Alex Smith played a ball through to Dickson, which Haffey looked as if he had covered. However the Celtic keeper misjudged, and Charlie Dickson took his chance, rounded the goalie and poked the ball into the empty net. The Scottish Cup was on it's way back to Dunfermline!
All the players played their part in the game. From the magnificent Connachan, through the defence superbly marshalled by Willie Cunningham and George Miller, with captain Ronnie Mailer at his best.
Right back Cammy Fraser improved all the time, and left half John Sweeney was a revelation. Whilst George Peebles was not as dominating as he had been on the Saturday, he remained a handful for the Celtic defence. Alex Smith and Harry Melrose, who roamed the park, kept the Athletic forwards on the move. And of course, there were the two men who scored the goals, Dave Thomson and Charlie Dickson.
Replay Teams:
Celtic: Haffey, McKay, O'Neil, Crerand, McNeill, Clark, Gallagher, Fernie, Hughes, Chalmers, Byrne.
Dunfermline: Connachan, Fraser, Cunningham, Mailer, Miller, Sweeney, Peebles, Smith, Thomson, Dickson, Melrose
Scorers: Thomson ( 67), Dickson (88).
Referee: H Phillips (Wishaw)
SCOTTISH CUP WIN - POSTSCRIPT
After the game, the two proud goalscorers described their efforts to the Dunfermline Press.
Charlie Dickson said of his goal "and that makes sure of the cup was my thought as I ran the ball into the net. As I followed that punt into goal and saw Haffey coming out, I just managed to get my toe to the ball and tip it past the keeper's hands. Then I was past him with the ball, and the net was five yards away."
Dave Thomson remarked, "I had just made the right position when George Peebles crossed. It seemed to swerve away from me at the vital moment, but suddenly I had met it and there it was flying into the corner of the net with Haffey still diving."
Once again the Dunfermline Press had taken a careful note of the game's vital statistics:
Free Kicks Conceded
Shies won
Corners won
Bye kicks won
Offside against
The total attendances at all the Pars cup games, was 282,764, with gate receipts in the region of �30,000.
SCOTTISH CUP WIN - THE CELEBRATIONS
Dunfermline had never seen the likes of the crowds lining the streets as the bus made its way to the City Chambers. 'We want Eddie' was the chant, as the crowd saluted Eddie Connachan, the cup winning hero.
In the book 'Black and White Magic', Athletic director, Bob Torrie described the Team's journey back to Fife:
"The official coach was given a police escort out of Glasgow and right to the Kincardine Bridge, where the Dunfermline police took over for the rest of the way. Never will I forget that journey. At every road end dozens of waving supporters were waiting to cheer us on, everyone showing something black and white. The cup complete with black and white ribbons was waved back and renewed cheering broke out all along the route. Eventually we arrived at a pre-selected spot where the open double deck bus was waiting for us. Our route was now through Rosyth to Dunfermline where we proceeded halfway up the New Row, along Comely Park and through the public park to the junction of Holyrood Place and Appin Crescent. Here an even greater sight met our eyes. Literally thousands of people were waiting our arrival. TV cameras were there, a pipe band was at the ready and the triumphant procession slowly wound its way through Holyrood Place, East Port and the High Street to the City Chambers where the crowd was even bigger. We eventually reached the inside of the City Chambers where the players (and cup) were introduced by the Provost Archie Frederick."
Amidst all the congratulatory messages that appeared in the local press, Hunters - The Grocers, proudly announced that the Scottish Cup would be on display in their window early the next week.
In its editorial, the Dunfermline Press paid tribute to the players, manager, backroom staff and board, praising them for the recognition and joy they had brought to the town.
The Scottish Cup may have been in the bag, but the Pars still had two league games to be played to complete the season. Three days after the replay DAFC lined up against Dundee United at Tannadice, and were soundly beaten 5-0. They completed the season at home against Kilmarnock, where despite cup hero Dave Thomson opening the scoring in just 3 minutes, the Pars ended up losing 4-2. Harry Melrose scored the Pars other goal. The defeats meant that Dunfermline finished the season in 12th place.
Recognising the changes and improvements that he had brought to the club in his first year, the Dunfermline chairman David Thomson and his board, awarded Jock Stein with a five year contract. Stein signed on 2nd May 1961. He club also acquired a house for the manager, in Garvock Hill.
History showed that winning the Scottish Cup was just the start of the most glorious decade in the club's history. Here's hoping for a return to those halcyon days in the first decade of the new millennium!


Inspiring delicious, nourishing, everyday meals using ingredients easily found in the kitchen.
These days, it seems everyone has a 'food philosophy'. Boy, it can get confusing with so much conflicting information out there. I don't pretend to have all the answers, but I can certainly help to inspire you with real, delicious, home-cooked food that I hope your family and friends will enjoy immensely.
I'm all about creating special recipes using normal ingredients. I mean hey, I do most of my shopping at my local supermarket and I'm sure a lot of you are the same. (We're very lucky in New Zealand to have such amazing food and fresh produce at our supermarkets.) Simple made special – everyday ingredients used to make sensational food.
If you want a happy, healthy relationship with food, I reckon the simple act of preparing a home-cooked meal is a great place to start. When you eat homemade food using quality ingredients you know exactly what's gone in, and you know that it's real. So what if it's got a little cream or bacon or sugar in it every now and then? As long as you keep active and eat a balanced diet, I figure it's all good. Good homemade food is the key; it has the power to make people happy.
My parting words to you are don't be afraid of a bit of New Zealand butter. I'm sure it makes the world a better place.
Make every day delicious, starting here.


text:
Q: Exponential random variable If X is an exponential random variable with parameter 1,how could it be explained that  {1/2}*X  is an exponential random variabile with parameter 2?

A: Because exponential distributions are closed under scaling: if $X\sim \mathcal E(\lambda)$, then
$$P(X\le x)=\begin{cases}
0 & x<0\\
1 - e^{-\lambda x} & x\ge 0
\end{cases}$$
So for any $c>0$, we have that
$$P(cX\le y)=P(X\le y/c)=\begin{cases}0 & y<0\\
1-e^{-(\lambda/c)\cdot y}& y\ge 0\end{cases}$$
Comparing the two, we know that $cX\sim \mathcal E(\lambda/c)$.

A: The parameter of the exponential r.v. is determined via the expectation.
So you know that $E[X] = \frac{1}{\lambda}$. If $\lambda = 1$, then $E[X] = 1$.
Furthermore you'll get by linearity of the expecation:
$$ E\Big[\frac{1}{2} X \Big] = \frac{1}{2}E[X] =\frac{1}{2} $$
Therefore the parameter has to be $\lambda = 2$.


Samsung Electronics Co. has unveiled a new mobile phone that features some of the sleek design and functions of Apple's much-hyped iPhone.
Samsung's Ultra Smart F700 will be exhibited at next week's 3GSM World Congress, a telecommunications exhibition in Barcelona, Samsung spokeswoman Sonia Kim said Friday.
Mobile phone makers have been scrambling to match the iPhone, unveiled last month by Apple CEO Steve Jobs. The device, which will be available starting in June, marks the iPod and Macintosh computer maker's entry into the mobile phone business.
Its third-generation (3G) technology is considerably faster than the iPhone's EDGE system, and its 5-megapixel camera outclasses the iPhone's 2-megapixel camera.


As the Tsar rode up to one flank of the battalions, which presented arms, another group of horsemen galloped up to the opposite flank, and at the head of them Rostov recognized Napoleon. It could be no one else. He came at a gallop, wearing a small hat, a blue uniform open over a white vest, and the St. Andrew ribbon over his shoulder. He was riding a very fine thoroughbred gray Arab horse with a crimson gold-embroidered saddlecloth. On approaching Alexander he raised his hat, and as he did so, Rostov, with his cavalryman's eye, could not help noticing that Napoleon did not sit well or firmly in the saddle. The battalions shouted"Hurrah!" and"Vive l'Empereur!" Napoleon said something to Alexander, and both Emperors dismounted and took each other's hands. Napoleon's face wore an unpleasant and artificial smile. Alexander was saying something affable to him.
Napoleon slightly turned his head, and put his plump little hand out behind him as if to take something. The members of his suite, guessing at once what he wanted, moved about and whispered as they passed something from one to another, and a page — the same one Rostov had seen the previous evening at Boris' — ran forward and, bowing respectfully over the outstretched hand and not keeping it waiting a moment, laid in it an Order on a red ribbon. Napoleon, without looking, pressed two fingers together and the badge was between them. Then he approached Lazarev (who rolled his eyes and persistently gazed at his own monarch), looked round at the Emperor Alexander to imply that what he was now doing was done for the sake of his ally, and the small white hand holding the Order touched one of Lazarev's buttons. It was as if Napoleon knew that it was only necessary for his hand to deign to touch that soldier's breast for the soldier to be forever happy, rewarded, and distinguished from everyone else in the world. Napoleon merely laid the cross on Lazarev's breast and, dropping his hand, turned toward Alexander as though sure that the cross would adhere there. And it really did.
"What d'you think of the treat? All on silver plate," one of them was saying."Have you seen Lazarev?"
"Have you heard the password?" asked one Guards' officer of another."The day before yesterday it was 'Napoleon, France, bravoure'; yesterday, 'Alexandre, Russie, grandeur.' One day our Emperor gives it and next day Napoleon. Tomorrow our Emperor will send a St. George's Cross to the bravest of the French Guards. It has to be done. He must respond in kind."
Rostov stood at that corner for a long time, watching the feast from a distance. In his mind, a painful process was going on which he could not bring to a conclusion. Terrible doubts rose in his soul. Now he remembered Denisov with his changed expression, his submission, and the whole hospital, with arms and legs torn off and its dirt and disease. So vividly did he recall that hospital stench of dead flesh that he looked round to see where the smell came from. Next he thought of that self-satisfied Bonaparte, with his small white hand, who was now an Emperor, liked and respected by Alexander. Then why those severed arms and legs and those dead men? . . . Then again he thought of Lazarev rewarded and Denisov punished and unpardoned. He caught himself harboring such strange thoughts that he was frightened.
"How can you judge what's best?" he cried, the blood suddenly rushing to his face."How can you judge the Emperor's actions? What right have we to argue? We cannot comprehend either the Emperor's or his actions!"
"We are not diplomatic officials, we are soldiers and nothing more," he went on."If we are ordered to die, we must die. If we're punished, it means that we have deserved it, it's not for us to judge. If the Emperor pleases to recognize Bonaparte as Emperor and to conclude an alliance with him, it means that that is the right thing to do. If once we begin judging and arguing about everything, nothing sacred will be left! That way we shall be saying there is no God — nothing!" shouted Nicholas, banging the table — very little to the point as it seemed to his listeners, but quite relevantly to the course of his own thoughts.
"Our business is to do our duty, to fight and not to think! That's all . . . ." said he.
"Yes, and to drink," assented Nicholas."Hullo there! Another bottle!" he shouted.


text:
BR Home Page > Players > Scott Kazmir > 2004 Pitching Game Logs
Scott Kazmir
Born: January 24, 1984 in Houston, TX us
Draft: Drafted by the New York Mets in the 1st round (15th) of the 2002 MLB June Amateur Draft from Cypress Falls HS (Houston, TX).
High School: Cypress Falls HS (Houston, TX)
Debut: August 23, 2004 (Age 20-212d, 16,152nd in MLB history)
vs. SEA 5.0 IP, 4 H, 4 SO, 3 BB, 0 ER, W
Last Game: September 23, 2016 (Age 32-243d)
vs. COL 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER
Agents: Greg Genske, Brian Peters, and Scott Parker • Previously: Jeff Moorad
National Team: us USA (18U)
Full Name: Scott Edward Kazmir
Nicknames: Kazmanian Devil or Pizza Man
Pronunciation: \KAZ-meer\
Twitter: @scottkazmir19
Scott Kazmir Overview
More Kazmir Pages
Minor, Winter & Independent Lg Stats
More Scott Kazmir Pages at Baseball Reference
Scott Kazmir page at the Bullpen Wiki
Team Record in Appearances: 2-6 / in Starts: 2-5
Run Support in Games Started
Total runs in Starts, Avg. is per 27 outs
1 125 Aug 23 TBD @ SEA W,9-0 GS-5 W(1-0) 99 5.0 4 0 0 3 4 0 0 0.00 21 101 56 20 6 8 6 3 0 0 60 0 1 0 18 1 0 0 1 0 1 1.14 0.290 2.72 1b start tie 5b 3 out tie
2 130 Aug 29 TBD @ OAK L,6-9 GS-4 5 3.0 9 6 5 1 2 0 0 5.62 19 73 49 13 9 9 7 4 0 0 20 1 0 0 18 1 0 0 0 0 0 .98 -0.307 -3.35 1b start tie 4b 12- 0 out d1
Sep/Oct
3 134 Sep 3 TBD DET L,2-4 GS-5 L(1-1) 4 5.0 4 4 4 6 7 1 0 6.23 25 95 53 15 13 4 8 3 2 0 44 2 0 0 19 1 1 0 0 0 0 .79 -0.183 -1.30 1t start tie 5t 3 out d4
4 137 Sep 9(1) TBD @ NYY L,1-9 4-6 5 3.0 2 1 1 3 4 0 0 5.62 14 67 37 12 10 2 5 1 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 .16 0.014 1.50 4b 123 0 out d5 6b 3 out d7
5 142 Sep 14 TBD @ BOS W,5-2 GS-6 W(2-1) 4 6.0 3 0 0 3 9 0 0 4.09 21 92 52 21 11 3 6 0 2 0 72 0 1 1 18 1 0 0 1 0 0 1.36 0.396 3.57 1b start a 1 6b 3 out a2
6 147 Sep 19 TBD @ TOR L,7-9 GS-3 L(2-2) 4 2.0 6 7 7 3 3 1 0 6.38 15 69 41 10 10 5 4 2 0 0 16 0 0 0 12 2 0 0 1 0 1 1.05 -0.485 -4.86 1b start a 1 3b 12- 0 out tie
7 154 Sep 27 TBD BOS L,3-7 GS-4 7 3.1 0 0 0 1 6 0 2 5.60 13 58 33 10 9 1 3 0 3 0 65 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 .86 0.114 1.21 1t start tie 4t 12- 1 out a2
8 160 Oct 2 TBD @ DET L,1-5 GS-6 L(2-3) 4 6.0 5 4 4 1 6 2 0 5.67 24 97 62 10 15 4 13 4 5 0 51 2 1 1 23 2 0 0 0 0 1 .65 -0.130 -0.83 1b start tie 6b 3 out d3
2-6 W-L:2-3 4.7 33.1 33 22 21 21 41 4 2 5.67 152 652 59% 17% 13% 0.69 19% 15% 0 47 3 33% 5 3 2 129 8 1 0 3 0 3 .90 -0.291 -1.35
You are here: BR Home Page > Players > Scott Kazmir > 2004 Pitching Game Logs


text:
Why you won't be paying for groceries with cryptocurrencies yet
Don't be fooled into thinking we're on the brink of a cryptocurrency revolution just yet.
18 August 2021 | 20 Shares
Joe Green
@More_Hybrid
joe@hybrid.co
A man uses the Bitcoin app during the presentation of a Bitcoin ATM at a shopping mall in San Salvador. Source: MARVIN RECINOS / AFP
Retail giant Walmart is the latest company in recent weeks to go public about its active interest in cryptocurrencies, posting an ad for a senior director to head up the company's exploration of all things crypto. The store chain joins Amazon in active pursuit of at least the possibilities around blockchain-based money. Even Twitter is in on the action, as is PayPal.
Is regulation really that bad for cryptocurrency?
But how far away are we from being able to pay for a week's groceries with Bitcoin, Dogecoin, or any other of the thousands of cryptocurrencies? While the answer remains "a long way, in all likelihood," the fact that billion-dollar businesses are starting a staring match with one another means that sooner or later, someone will have to blink. When that happens, watch out for the bandwagon juggernaut-ing down a street near you.
A few retail outlets already accept some forms of cryptocurrency as payment for goods or services. Typically, these are niche vendors who peg asking prices published in crypto to fiat (or "normal") currency. If Bitcoin's value stands at US$30,000 per coin, selling a high-end graphics card (there's a tendency for the tech vendors to crop up a lot, unsurprisingly) might cost you 0.1BTC. A week later, the price could be 0.15 Bitcoin if the average exchange value has fallen.
But there are significant practicalities that currently prevent brick-and-mortar stores from accepting cryptocurrencies at the till, not least of which is the speed at which currency movements can be verified at the required scale. Depending on the crypto, how it's valued, how it's programmed, and any number of other variables (like network speed), cryptocurrency movements done at scale are comparatively slow.
Crypto vs cash – cash wins every time, for now
With a "traditional" credit card payment, money moves quickly: there are thousands of transactions worldwide completed every second on just the Mastercard platform, and the company has the capability right now to process more, just as quickly. The same is true of Visa, Amex, and the rest. A single Bitcoin transaction can take up to ten minutes.
There are plenty of cryptocurrencies out there with fast processing capabilities — EOS and Ethereum, for example. So why don't we see "We take Ethereum" signs at payment registers everywhere?
The answer is: we might, but not today. And to find out why, it's necessary to talk about some economic basics.
Making it ledger-able
When your employer pays you, their banking ledger (held at the business bank they happen to use) gets a negative number entered into it. A corresponding positive number appears in your bank's ledgers against your name. In some cases, your government's bank's ledger also gets a smaller positive number added to it — that's called "tax." The institutions that hold the ledgers, banks, are hugely regulated by governments. Law enforcement bodies have the right — enshrined in legislation — to make sure that all the positive ledger entries come from an honest day's work, for instance, not from something illegal.
The long-awaited Perkins Coie whitepaper is now available!
"Anti-Money Laundering Regulation of Privacy-Enabling Cryptocurrencies"
This 40 page report is the most comprehensive to-date on compliance and Monero and will greatly assist adoption of XMR!https://t.co/RyvhGNlB4e
— Monero || #xmr (@monero) September 15, 2020
In this (much simplified) model, we have three ledgers — you get to eat, pay rent, and not go to prison. Here's where cryptocurrencies change things around.
Take a single ledger that contains all the financial transactions, encrypt it, and then let everyone have a copy to look after. When your employer pays you at the end of the month, the ledger gets two new entries – one in red ink – your employer's debit – and one in black – your credit. All the copies of the ledger are updated (the ledger is called a blockchain for the sake of argument, by the way) so everyone has the latest version.
The part of this that's unpopular with traditional financial institutions and governments is that you don't need to register to take part in the whole blockchain/cryptocurrency exchange system. Anyone with a computer, like the one that runs your smartphone, can make and receive payments and do so fairly anonymously (depending on the cryptocurrency). Instead of a name against an account (and an address, a passport, and a driver's license), users are just long strings of anonymous numbers.
Now when your employer pays you, the government has no way of knowing about it. In fact, the government has no idea who or what specifically is using the blockchain at all. The system is both open (the code behind all this is open-source, generally) yet completely closed (hidden behind anonymity and encryption).
How to go open source with cloud-based file sharing
If governments have no way of knowing what tax is due to it, it has no reliable way of raising any money (other than via voluntary donations by kind-hearted individuals), so no one pays the police, the fire services, the doctors, and the civil servants. To take the argument — or vision — to its logical conclusion, the economy collapses, and anarchy reigns.
Naturally, that dystopian vision will (in all probability) not come to pass, but it does go some way to explain the popularity of cryptocurrencies among advocates of "alt" philosophies of various creeds. Cryptocurrencies have the potential to shake up the accepted means of exchange (money) in daily use by the majority of the world's population.
Those dark visions also explain why many large financial institutions have come out so strongly in the past to denounce cryptocurrencies (yet while often simultaneously engaging in a little speculation themselves). More recently, however, large banks have begun to use some blockchain technology (such as Ripple) as part of their operations. The blockchain (the distributed, encrypted ledger) has multiple use cases in legal settings and supply chain verification where proof of provenance is required.
It's certainly a flex for Jack Dorsey to be CEO of two publicly held corporations and say, "Oh, but my biggest interest is…this other thing." (But at least he didn't name himself CEO of it.)
— Nick Turner (@NewsyNick) August 16, 2021
Further afield, the Chinese government has announced its own digital currency (not a cryptocurrency), seen as the next logical step for a system of exchange by many. As the inventor of paper money around 1,000 years ago (to replace heavy coins), that seems fitting, although its reasons for doing so have more to do with increased control of its currency rather than anything else.
The staring match
Our traditional means of paying for goods and services took many thousands of years to develop and become relatively foolproof (albeit wildly imbalanced). The big companies that are actively pursuing cryptocurrency options are doing so in order that if (or when) a cryptocurrency system takes off, they are not left behind. The most recent proposal for mass adoption of a cryptocurrency that might have had significant momentum was Facebook. However, its efforts were subsumed under a barrage of criticism, corporate partners' pullouts, and Congressional nay-saying.
Having accrued significant proportions of the world's available monies, big businesses are unlikely to float any cryptocurrency schemes that endanger their privileged financial positions. This staring match is a high-stakes game.
Aruba forecasts WiFi 6e, SASE to dominate enterprise in 2022
Can Virtual Reality help with back pain?


text:
/** xDDTools */
#pragma once

#include "xdd/common.hpp"
#include "xdd/filters.hpp"
#include "xdd/file.hpp"

namespace xdd {

class File;

class File_system
{
public:
	File_system();
	~File_system();

	QString full_path_of(const File& file) const;

	void full_path_of(const File& file, QString& full_path) const;
	void full_path_of(const File& file, wchar_t* full_path, size_t* len) const;

	File* add_file(const File& file);

	/// O(1) access-time
	File* file_with_id(File::ID id);
	/// O(1) access-time
	const File* file_with_id(File::ID id) const;

	static File_system* i();
	uint32 num_files() const;

	File* root();
	const File* root() const;

	void flush_and_ready_async();

protected:
	void full_path_of_impl(const File& file, QString& path) const;
	void full_path_of_impl(const File& file, wchar_t* full_path, size_t* len) const;

protected:
	static File_system* instance_;

	int init_bucket_size_;

	std::deque<File> files_;
};

}// namespace xdd