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Ulster Retains First Class Honours In UK University Green League Table
The University of Ulster has received a 'First Class Honours' award in the People and Planet Green League Table for the second year running.
The People and Planet Green League assesses the environmental and ethical performance of all universities annually, awarding first class 'degrees' to the most sustainable and a 'fail' to those doing the least to address their environmental and ethical impacts. Ulster is among 46 universities to achieve a first class award in the 2012 Green League.
In the past year, the University of Ulster has made substantial advances in reducing its environmental impact, including:
Carbon emissions reduced by 600 tonnes (3.3% reduction)
Electricity use reduced by 4%
Mains water use reduced by 22%
6.5% of the University's electricity came from on campus renewable sources (Wind Turbine and Photo -voltaic generation)
Business mileage by car reduced by 8%
The Green League rates universities on several key factors including environmental policy and management, curriculum, fair-trade and ethical procurement, and environmental performance in the areas of waste and recycling, energy and water consumption.
Examples of key initiatives introduced by Ulster during the year include the commencement of embedding sustainability within teaching and learning programmes, energy efficiency measures including building insulation improvements, the upgrade of lighting and controls, and environmental audits to identify opportunities for improvement.
Adrian Davis, Sustainability Manager at the University of Ulster, said: "Retaining the first class award this year is very pleasing particularly as the scoring criteria were more stringent. This demonstrates the University's commitment to sustainability through continuous performance improvement in this important area. There is still much work to be done, and I would urge staff and students to engage with the various sustainability initiatives as they are brought forward."
(1) Ulster is ranked joint 31st in the People and Planet Green League Table 2012.
(2) The People & Planet Green League is the only comprehensive and independent league table of UK universities ranked by environmental and ethical performance. It is compiled annually by the UK's largest student campaigning network, People & Planet.http://peopleandplanet.org/greenleague. In 2012, the People & Planet Green League ranks 145 UK universities – awarding them a First, 2:1, 2:2, Third, or Fail. The ranking combines data obtained directly from universities through the Freedom of Information Act with Estates Management Statistics data obtained from the Higher Education Statistics Agency. More information: http://peopleandplanet.org/greenleague/methodology
The full results are published today in partnership with The Guardian and can be viewed at: http://peopleandplanet.org/greenleague
(3) People & Planet is the largest UK student network campaigning to end world poverty, defend human rights and protect the environment. Find out more: http://peopleandplanet.org


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Q: process of coming up with a definition or axiom? I am not a maths student but am very interested in the mathematical processes. A major part of mathematics is proofs. The steps carried out on the proofs are all based on the initial axioms or definitions. So my question is, are the initial axioms based on common sense and real world observation? is this normally how the first initial axiom or definition of any mathematical concept is created? Secondly, can it be the case where the definition can be wrong(since it is kind of an assumption but a very good one) when we apply the proof to tell something about the world? I hope to get some insights possibly from the mathematics majors or professors who happened to glance at it. Thanks!

A: There are different collections of initial axioms to choose from.
Today, the standard is Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory with axiom of choice. There is also some interest in Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory without the axiom of choice, but it's not the mainstream.
One thing that should be made clear is that there is a big difference between axioms and definitions. Axioms are extremely simple, super super super essential and basic things, like "two sets are the same if they contain the same things" or "there is a such thing as an infinite set". These are things that you really can't argue with if you want to have a system of mathematics that makes any sense. There are very few options when it comes to what kind of axioms are reasonable.
Definitions, on the other hand, are much more specific, and you have lots of options there. You ask whether a definition can be wrong-- well, it can't really be wrong, no, because it's something you're assuming. But a definition can fail to be useful, or it can fail to describe something that you think it ought to. For example, there is always some discussion as to why $1$ isn't considered a prime number. What you're really asking there is whether the definition of a prime can include $1$. Whether you decide that $1$ is a prime number or not doesn't change the actual truth behind mathematics, but it will mean you have to phrase things differently. If you were to say $1$ is prime, then most theorems about prime numbers would have to be about "prime numbers except for 1", so ultimately it makes more sense to not call $1$ a prime number. This is the closest one gets to a definition being "wrong." Definitions are ultimately just a linguistic issue.

A: I'll approach this topic from something like a Platonist perspective.
We all know that there is such a thing as a "counting number". If we have a discrete, finite collection of apples, we can describe the collection by saying there are 2, 3, or even zero of them. We also know that when we put three apples with seven, we always get ten apples. And similarly, when we have a collection of three pairs added to one of seven, we get a collection of ten pairs. This leads us to the intuition that there are some inherent properties about things like "seven" and "three" which are independent of apples and pears. That is, this leads us to the notion that numbers (and the addition operation) exist in their own right.
Since we've decided that there is a "collection" of "counting numbers", the next step is to describe its properties in the hopes of making deductions about these "counting numbers" from things we know to be true about them. Axioms are therefore viewed as a way of specifying logically what we're trying to describe.
Suppose I told you of a mathematical collection known as $\mathbb{N}$ which is the collection of "counting numbers". How could I mathematically convey to you what it is that I'm describing?
As I describe adding each axiom, I encourage you to visualise the "bad $\mathbb{N}$" examples I'm providing by drawing out $\mathbb{N}$ as a collection of dots with an arrow between $n$ and $S(n)$. The imagery will be clearer if you can visualise it.
I would probably begin by telling you that something called $0$ is an element of $\mathbb{N}$ and that for every $n$ which is an element of $\mathbb{N}$, we have some element known as $S(n)$ which is also in $\mathbb{N}$.
This doesn't tell you much of anything about $\mathbb{N}$. The collection could have as few as $1$ element (perhaps it contains only $0$, and $S(0) = 0$), or an arbitrarily large collection of elements.
So we add in the principle that for every $n$, $S(n) \neq 0$. What does this tell us about $\mathbb{N}$?
It tells us that $\mathbb{N}$ has at least two elements, $0$ and $S(0)$. But it could be that $S(S(0)) = S(0)$ - that is, $\mathbb{N}$ could have exactly 2 elements. Obviously, a set with two elements isn't what we mean by the collection of "counting numbers", so I will have to be more specific.
The next principle I would articulate is that for every $n$ and every $m$, if $S(n) = S(m)$ then $n = m$. This tells us that $\mathbb{N}$ must have infinitely many elements. But it does not necessarily describe what we're looking for. For example, we could have $\mathbb{N}$ consisting of two chains $0, S(0), S(S(0)), ...$ and $w, S(w), S(S(w)), ...$ where $w$ is not the successor of any $n$. This is obviously not what we're looking for.
We might try to add in an axiom that every $n$ is either $0$ or a successor. However, this still leaves the possibility in play that $\mathbb{N}$ could consist of sequence $0, S(0), S(S(0)), ... $ together with some $w$ such that $w = S(w)$. This is again obviously not what we mean.
We could try to add in another axiom that no $n$ can equal $S(n)$. But this still leaves open yet another possibility - a "single-ended chain" consisting of $0, S(0), S(S(0)), ...$ and a "double-ended chain" $..., S^{-1}(S^{-1}(w)), S^{-1}(w), w, S(w), S(w), S(S(w)), ...$. Again, this is not what we know "counting numbers" should look like!
In order to fully characterise the natural numbers, I would therefore need the Axiom of Induction. (For simplicity's sake, we'll gloss over differences in 1st and 2nd order logic). This says that for every property $P$ that a number might have (where $n$ having property $P$ is written as $P(0)$), if $P(0)$ and if for every $n$, $P(n)$ implies $P(S(n))$, then it must be the case that for all $n$, $P(n)$.
This axiom is enough to specify exactly what we mean by the "counting numbers".
In the same way, the axioms of Set Theory are designed to describe some abstract notion of "set". Generally, the notion of a set in ZFC is some kind of well-founded tree. However, we can prove interesting things about the logical system of ZFC by finding other collections which seemingly have little to do with the intuitive notion of a set but which nevertheless satisfy the axioms of ZFC. This is how one can prove, for example, the independence of the continuum hypothesis (though obviously, a lot of mathematical sophistication is required to understand this proof).
Can an axiom be "wrong"? According to the school of thought that axioms are there to describe mathematical things which exist in their own right, an axiom is "wrong" if it doesn't describe the objects you think it describes. This is obviously very subjective in practice - to some, the Axiom of Choice is a self-evident property of sets, while to others, it self-evidently cannot be.
There is one way to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that an axiom is wrong. You could prove that the axiom is inconsistent - that is, that it's possible to derive a contradiction from it. Bertrand Russell famously gave set theory a frightful scare by using the widely accepted axioms of set theory to prove Russell's Paradox. After he did this, everyone agreed that since contradictions cannot exist, there's no way that the axioms leading to the contradiction could possibly all be true. This led to the revision of the axioms of set theory.
Interestingly, a similar paradox was found during the development of Martin-Lof type theory, a theory with very different characteristics from set theory, by considering a "type of all types" just as set theory once incorrectly considered a "set of all sets". This suggests that there are some deep underlying constraints on how "big" collections can be that are in some sense independent of foundation.
I myself lean more towards the Formalist view of axioms, which goes something like this:
When mathematicians prove something, they are just following a set of rules in a game to reach an outcome. There is not necessarily any philosophical significance at all in the fact that some theorem holds in ZFC other than the fact that, following the axioms of ZFC and the rules of first-order logic, it is possible to prove that theorem.  ZFC doesn't necessarily "describe" a "real collection of sets" or indeed any real collection at all; rather, it is a set of axioms which can apply to a wide range of mathematical constructions, many of which look nothing alike on the surface.
I do, however, tend to believe that there "really is" such a thing as $\mathbb{N}$. In that sense, I don't take the extreme positions of the finitists, who say that (in some sense, some kinds of) infinities do not exist and therefore, any mathematical theory dealling with infinite objects has value only insufar as it can tell us truths about finite objects.
As far as proofs being applied to things in the "real world", this ventures more into the realm of physics and the sciences than pure mathematics. Most scientists, like Feynman famously did, would say that the only test of a scientific fact is experiment. On this view, the fact that mathematics can help us make sense of the world is, at worst, a happy coincidence and at best a result of the fact that humans specifically developed math to try to understand the real world.
After all, the theory of "counting numbers" originally came about to understand such phenomena as putting three apples with seven, just as the theory of plane geometry came about to understand real physical surfaces and the theory of calculus came about to describe physics. It's no surprise that our mathematical tools do exactly what we designed them to.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Family arts group Wild Rumpus set to launch biggest year with 'magical and enchanting show'
The Macclesfield-based group will perform to more than 10,000 visitors at The Lost Carnival later this month
Macclesfield Express
Sarah Bird and Rowan Hoban from Wild Rumpus, who are staging the Lost Carnival.
A family arts event group from Macclesfield are set to launch an action-packed year with a major festival show.
Wild Rumpus, based at Rode Hall, will appear at The Lost Carnival in Bury later this month and are aiming to give families and children a 'magical and enchanting' experience.
The social enterprise was set up in 2009 by directors Sarah Bird and Rowan Hoban after meeting at a Macclesfield book club where they discovered a shared passion for family arts events in wild, natural landscapes.
The group will now take part in The Lost Festival, a spellbinding theatre, circus and music show in Bury, where more than 10,000 people are excepted to attend.
During 2015, Wild Rumpus are expected to employ more than 200 staff, freelancers and volunteers to cover a series of events including the upcoming Dig the City Festival and Northern Festivals Network.
They have previously produced the award-winning Just So Festival, now in its sixth year, and contributed to the family programme at the Barnaby Festival each year.
Former Macclesfield Waterstones manager Sarah, of Jordangate, said the aim of Wild Rumpus is to 'take families out of their every day life' and ask them to 'suspend their disbelief'.
She said: "We both discussed how festivals that already existed, if they had a family element at all, it was just a bit of sticking and gluing in the corner and all the money was spent on headline acts.
"We has this idea that we could have a festival where all the money was spent on families instead.
"The terrifying thing for parents at festivals is losing their kids in a crowd so we wanted to create a place where families could relax and enjoy themselves.
"There is an exciting culmination at the end of the evening too which I can't reveal yet."
The Lost Carnival will be the first ever large scale event to be held at Burrs Country Park in Bury.
Rowan, who lives on Catherine Street and used to run Button & Skein wool shop on Church Street, said: "We've heard whispers for many years of a Lost Carnival, and have often hoped that it might reappear in our lifetime."
The carnival will run from May 22 to May 25 from 4 - 9.30pm.
Tickets cost £10 and free for under 3s and to book visit www.thelostcarnival.org.uk .
Barnaby Festival
New ArticlesIn pictures: Rachel Falconer

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The city passed an ordinance in July forbidding stores from selling tobacco to anyone under 21.
In his opinion, Attorney General Bill Schuette says the ordinance is contrary to the Age of Majority Act – which says anyone 18 years old or older is considered a legal adult.
The Michigan Public Radio Network's Cheyna Roth reports on the city of Escanaba taking its "dark store case" to the Michigan Supreme Court.
Parking meter hours will remain the same for now in downtown Ann Arbor.
The Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice in Ann Arbor is preparing to help those who may be affected by President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration.
WEMU's Jorge Avellan reports on the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice's plans to assist those affected by President Trump's executive order.


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Mysterious New Computer Virus May Be 'Sleeper' Agent
A computer virus that may leave Microsoft Windows users vulnerable to digital hijacking is spreading through companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia, already infecting close to 9 million machines, according to a private online security firm.
Fortunately, however, it may be a dud.
Though computer bugs have become a common affliction, Finland-based F-Secure says a virus it has been tracking for the past several weeks has surged more rapidly through corporate networks than anything they've seen in years.
But the virus doesn't appear to be working as its designers intended. F-Secure's chief security adviser, Patrik Runald, said the virus's coding suggests a type of bug that alerts computer users to bogus infections on their machines and offers to help by selling them antivirus software.
Instead, the virus is simply spreading to little effect, though it may still pose a threat to infected computers.
"The gang behind this worm haven't used it yet," F-Secure's chief research officer, Mikko Hypponen said by phone. "But they could do anything they like with any of these machines at any time."
Microsoft issued a security update Tuesday to deal with the so-called "Downadup" or "Conficker" virus, which appears to be a new version of a bug that popped up in October.
"Over the last couple of weeks, a new variant of this worm has been affecting customers," the company acknowledged in a blog post.
Microsoft said the virus is spreading by gaining access to one computer and then guessing at passwords of other users in the same network: "If the password is weak, it may succeed."
A company representative couldn't immediately be reached Saturday to comment on F-Secure's estimate of infected machines.
Most computers with Windows will automatically download Microsoft's security update, but Hypponen said the virus disables updates on infected machines.
While the origin of the virus is a mystery, F-Secure's best guess is it came from Ukraine.
Hypponen said it is coded to avoid computers there, which may indicate whoever wrote the virus was trying to avoid drawing attention from local authorities.
by:FOXNews
Posted by matthewjade at 7:46 AM
Labels: 0-9, Technology


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Rare type of pregnancy needs close monitoring if carried to term
On Behalf of Michael L. Hawkins & Associates, P.L.L.C. | Dec 21, 2017 | Blog
Some common minor birth complications resolve quickly with little to no medical intervention, e.g., jaundice in newborns and cranial and facial bruising after a forceps delivery.
The danger of Cesarean scar pregnancies
But there are much rarer complications like Cesarean scar pregnancies (CSPs) that can be life-threatening to the mother and embryo. With CSP, women who previously gave birth via C-section have subsequent pregnancies where the embryonic sac attaches itself to the inner scar tissue. Of course, that is a much more tenuous connection to the mother's life-force than an embryo developing within the relative safety of its mother's womb.
But that's far from the only danger. Women who undergo these pregnancies are at a much greater risk of developing a potentially fatal medical condition, placenta accreta. Doctors sometimes refer to it as "morbidly adherent placenta." In layman's terms, it means that instead of having the placenta expelled in the first hour after the birth, the tissues take hold inside the walls of the mother's uterus. As stated by the the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, failing to expel all of the placenta shortly after giving birth can cause the mother to bleed to death.
Rare doesn't mean "never"
Fortunately, only about one pregnancy out of every 1,800- 2,500 is a CSP. but in one medical anomaly, a woman had five CSP pregnancies in succession.
Part of the reason might be the uptick in the C-section rate over the past half-century in the United States. Back in 1970, just 5 percent of babies were born by C-section, By 2015, the rate had jumped up to 32 percent. Obviously, more C-sections create more scarring, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of the mother developing a CSP.
Women who potentially may be at risk of these types of risky pregnancies require frequent and thorough monitoring by their obstetricians. In last month's Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology journal, the author reported that the aforementioned mother had two healthy infants born by C-section and went on to get pregnant four more times. All were CSPs, and were subsequently terminated.
"There was a great concern that these pregnancies were extremely risky and could even be life-threatening," one New York City maternal-fetal medicine specialist and OB/GYN said.
When she became pregnant yet again and was diagnosed with the same condition, she refused to terminate. Despite many very serious consequences, she was able to deliver a healthy infant at 34 weeks. Following that C-section, she had an immediate hysterectomy.
If you were improperly monitored during a high-risk pregnancy and you or your baby suffered injuries or damages as a result of medical negligence, you may be able to find justice and compensation by filing a malpractice lawsuit in the Kentucky courts.


March 18th, this is a meaningful date for OUKITEL as it is the 4th anniversary of OUKITEL brand. On the 4th anniversary, OUKITEL is bringing the latest new smartphone OUKITEL C15 Pro to market. It will be the global first MT6761 processor smartphone going to market, and due to this processor, C15 Pro will be the most powerful quad-core smartphone. So how this C15 Pro act in performance? OUKITEL tested its performance with the latest software to demonstrate this.
OUKITEL C15 Pro carries MediaTek latest MT6761 quad-core processor. For previous quad-core processors, mainly get 1.5GHz in CPU at most. But the MT6761 chipset gets 4 cores of Cortex A53 framework clocked at 2.0Ghz which mainly appears in octa-core chipsets. In GPU, MT6761 supports up to 660MHz graphics processor, this is even higher than the octa-core processor MT6762 which only gets 650MHz. The combination of a more powerful CPU and GPU will definitely supplies faster task handling speed as well as loading images and scenes.
To give a more intuitive idea of the performance, OUKITEL Lab tested the C15 Pro by Antutu bench mark and actual performance experience. After several times of testing, C15 Pro antutu score is stabilized above 64,000, this is much higher than other quad-core smartphones. Most MT6739 smartphones can run a score around 40,000 in Antutu.
While the antutu score gives objective impressions, the actual handling experience will let you feel the performance directly. C15 Pro was tested by HD videos, games, shopping website scanning, and multi-tasks. Video playing are fluent and smooth, even if you fast forward or back forward, it has no stuck to play immediately. As an entry level smartphone, the game playing can not compare to mid-rangers or flagships, but C15 pro performs quite good. No matter for picture representation, scene loading or actions, C15 pro displays better than an entry level smartphone could be. Shopping online is becoming more and more popular now, so C15 pro also tested one of the popular shopping site Aliexpress. The photos and new contents are loaded quite fast, no stuck or lagging. For multi-tasks, it could handle or exchange apps with no pressure, it will react immediately.


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Seaside Heights man sentenced to 22-years for fatal stabbing in Manchester
Vin Ebenau
Prison door at the Monmouth County Correctional Institute. (Vin Ebenau, Townsquare Media New Jersey)
A Seaside Heights man has been sentenced to 22-years in prison for stabbing a Manchester resident in a drug deal gone wrong at the Surf and Stream Campground last October.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced the sentenced Monday of John T. Mullen, Jr., 51, of Seaside Heights, as a result of his previously entered guilty plea to Aggravated Manslaughter.
This sentence is subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act, meaning Mullen has to serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence before becoming considered eligible for for parole.
Mullen pled guilty to Aggravated Manslaughter on September 23.
On the night of the incident, October 20, 2019, Manchester Police responded to the campground after receiving multiple 911 calls about a body lying in the entrance driveway to the campground.
Upon arrival, officers found the body of Thomas J. Applegate, 34, of Manchester, lying in the driveway with a wound in his chest.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A joint investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor's Office High Tech Crime Unit, Manchester Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit found that Mullen stabbed Applegate during the course of a drug deal, which ultimately resulted in his death.
"The law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation – through sheer hard work and resolve - swiftly identified Mullen as the individual responsible for Mr. Applegate's death and quickly brought him into custody," Prosecutor Billhimer said in a statement. "The exceptional teamwork displayed by these law enforcement professionals has brought about a lengthy state prison sentence for Mullen, which may, as Judge Ryan pointed out, effectively result in a life sentence given this defendant's age and longstanding history of substance abuse," Prosecutor Billhimer continued. "We hope this sentence affords the family of Mr. Applegate some level of peace and closure," Prosecutor Billhimer concluded.
Ocean County Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Michael Abatemarco and Assistant Prosecutor Alyssa Mandara handled the case on behalf of the State.
You can follow Vin Ebenau on Twitter and Instagram and email news tips to vin.ebenau@townsquaremedia.com.
More From Townsquare Media Monmouth-Ocean:
Things I Am Looking Forward To Doing Post-Quarantine
Filed Under: Jersey Shore, Manchester, Manchester Police, Ocean County, Ocean County Prosecutor, seaside heights
Categories: Monmouth/Ocean News, New Jersey News, News


We will meet at noon at the Hilton Garden Inn Williamsburg for an educational lunch "My Factor My Body". This session provides useful information on hemophilia, treatment options, and how treatment may be selected based on an individual's needs and situation.
After lunch we will meet at Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum 1735 Richmond Rd., Williamsburg, VA 23185 tickets will be provided so that you have time for fun and networking with your bleeding disorders community.


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Tennis: US Open starts late, a day after wild weather wreaks havoc
Diego Schwartzman of Argentina looks up at rain blowing in under the roof at Louis Armstrong Stadium during his match against Kevin Anderson of South Africa. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
https://str.sg/35py
NEW YORK (REUTERS) - The start of play at the US Open was delayed on Thursday (Sept 2), a day after remnants of Hurricane Ida brought torrential rains and high winds to the grounds, flooding roads and interrupting one match that was being played under a roof.
The powerful storm led the National Weather Service to declare a flash flood emergency in New York City for the first time in history, with at least nine deaths reported in the region.
Day Four's first matches began at noon, an hour after the normal start time.
Fans and players faced challenges in getting to Flushing Meadows in Queens, where the year's final Grand Slam is held.
Nearly all New York City subway lines were suspended due to flooding overnight, though some service had been restored as of Thursday morning, and widespread road closures remained.
The three major commuter train lines that serve the New York region were either suspended or experiencing delays.
In mid-town Manhattan, where most players stay during the tournament, players, tournament staff and media members lined up in the morning sun to wait for shuttle buses to transport them to the tennis centre.
As of late morning, the drive to Queens took more than two hours due to detours because of storm damage.
At Louis Armstrong Stadium on Wednesday, strong winds blew rain sideways into the court despite the retractable roof, forcing Diego Schwartzman to finish his win over Kevin Anderson at Arthur Ashe Stadium after a lengthy delay.
Rain blows into the mostly covered Louis Armstrong Stadium on Sept 1, 2021. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
"Crazy weather," the Argentine said after the match concluded around 1am.
The driving rain turned pedestrian plazas into rivers, with debris flying and umbrellas little match for the fierce winds.
The second-round match between former champion Angelique Kerber and Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina, originally scheduled to begin after Schwartzman and Anderson, was pushed back to Thursday, along with dozens of other matches that could not be completed due to the rain.
Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Ash Barty are scheduled to play their second-round matches on Thursday.
US Open (Tennis)


Source: Society of Japanese Language Education of HK.
Step No.1: Writing & Matching.
Step No.2: Reinforcing & Absorbing.
Look at this table to reinforce your memorization of Japanese Kana.
Introducing 2 free Jap Dict Apps that could be offline usable.
By installing one of these apps, your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Android could turn into a Japanese Dictionary.
Benri Nihongo - Japanese Language Training for English Speakers in HK.


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Q: An enumeration of rational s.t. $\bigcup_{n=1}^\infty \left(r_n-\frac{1}{n},r_n+\frac{1}{n}\right)\neq \mathbb R$, is it possible? I'm doing an old exam of measure theory, and one question is to find an enumeration $\{r_n\}_{n\geq 1}$ of $\mathbb Q$ s.t. $$\bigcup_{n=1}^\infty \left(r_n-\frac{1}{n},r_n+\frac{1}{n}\right)\neq \mathbb R,$$
or in other word s.t. $$\bigcup_{n=1}^\infty \left(r_n-\frac{1}{n},r_n+\frac{1}{n}\right)\subsetneq \mathbb R. $$
How can this be possible ? I have the impression that if there is such an enumeration, then the density of $\mathbb Q$ in $\mathbb R$ fails... Indeed, if $x\in\mathbb R$, then there is $x\in \left(r_n-\frac{1}{n},r_n+\frac{1}{n}\right)$.

A: Yes, there exist enumerations $\{r_n\}_{n\geq 1}$ of $\mathbb{Q}$ such that
$$\bigcup_{n=1}^\infty \left(r_n-\frac{1}{n},r_n+\frac{1}{n}\right)\subsetneq \mathbb R.$$
For example take an enumeration $\{r_n\}_{n\geq 1}$ of $\mathbb{Q}$ such that the rational numbers in $[0,M]$ have indices in $\{m^k\}_{k\geq 1}$ where $m$ and $M$ are integers $\geq 3$.
It should be easy to verify that for such enumeration, $\bigcup_{n=1}^\infty \left(r_n-\frac{1}{n},r_n+\frac{1}{n}\right)$ is NOT the whole real line because a non-empty subset in $(0,M)$ remains uncovered.


If you're ever strolling through Oakham, nip down Gaol Street.
On one side of the road is Hambleton Bakery – selling delicious, locally-baked breads, cakes and pasta – and on the other is Hambleton Fine Foods – offering an awe-inspiring array of meats and a fine deli counter. They're both superb, but the only other thing the two shops have in common is the name.
Hambleton Farms Fine Foods, the Gaol Street deli/butchery, is owned by Andrew Nelson, a business-savvy farmer from Hambleton, Rutland. His Oakham shop is one of six Hambleton outlets. He also has outlets scattered around the east of England, including some in garden centres, like Van Hage in Peterborough, and a few in farm shops, such as Doddington Hall in Lincolnshire. The Oakham shop is run by Lindsay Cottrell of Oakham (centre of picture, between Richard Short of Melton and Sue Meyer of Great Easton).
In addition to produce from their own farmland – comprising 1000 acres in Hambleton, Exton and Cold Overton – the Nelsons (for Hambletons is a family affair) source meat from other farms, mainly in Lincolnshire. They have to, because they sell enough food through their outlets to slaughter ten beasts a week.
And it's these tasty meat products that drive the business. The Oakham shop sells pies, sausages, steaks, chops and more. They're cut and baked in Hambleton's engine room in Mareham-le-Fen, Lincs, where six butchers and three bakers create mouthwatering food.
If you enjoy high-quality, locally produced food, then try Hambletons.


While different industries continue to try to adapt to global markets and the recover from the Great Recession, the casino industry is benefiting from relaxed regulations and the fact that Americans have more disposable income. Casino industry experts are also projecting a bright future based on the recent election of Donald Trump, an industry insider. Despite some bright spots, data indicates that the casino industry may be undergoing some major geographical shifts and experiencing competition from online gambling, which is leading the gaming industry in both Europe and Asia. For a closer look at the future of the casino industry and what emerging trends to be on the lookout for, keep reading.
In the past, casinos have been regulated by state laws that were applied across the board. However, regulations are becoming more localized. Instead of instituting broad limitations, local governments are being given the power to make their own decision about how to handle gambling establishments and revenue. As a result, more small casino locations are popping up in the form of riverboats, tribal casinos and cruise ships. Expect this trend to continue and for gambling to become more accepted and welcomed outside of traditional gambling and casino hubs.
In the United States, casinos have been concentrated in two main locations: Las Vegas and Atlantic City. However, both these locations are undergoing major changes while casinos along the east coast continue to multiply and grow. Over the past decade, Atlantic City has lost over half its value. While the gambling and hospitality industries still make significant contributions to the local economy, it is hard to imagine the city returning to its heyday.
Las Vegas is still thriving as a tourist destination, but less and less of the city's revenue is coming from gambling. In 2016, 34% of the Strip's revenue came from gambling. Compare that to 1984 when a full 58% or revenue was a direct result of gambling. More people are choosing to spend their time and money on shows and other entertainment.
Those who are almost exclusively interested in gambling and view the shows and restaurants as an added perk and not the main attraction, are heading to smaller establishments. The east coast, in particular, is seeing an expansion of the casino industry. Perhaps most notably, MGM has made major investments in developments near Washington DC and Springfield, MA. The goal is to provide local consumers with the same brand experience that would have in Las Vegas. Industry leaders are betting on the fact that people will be excited to have the casino experience without having to pay for travel.
While casinos are still making significant profits, even if less of their revenue is coming from gambling, they are still looking for ways to lure people back to the games. Those looking to introduce disruptive solutions that will lead to true market innovation are turning to skill based gambling games. For example, Konami recently introduced a Frogger slot machine that combines both skill and luck. Players can win performance based prizes. At the end of each round, you can spin the wheel and win additional prizes. It combines classic, interactive arcade games with traditional gambling for a more well-rounded user experience.
These new types of skilled based games appeal directly to Millenials who simply aren't showing up to engage with typical gambling games. By introducing the arcade element, casinos are able to meet players where they already are and provide a twist on gaming. Instead of sitting at home in front of computers and game consoles, avid gamers can visit the casino and put their skills to work and maybe win a little cash.
Arcade themed slot machines are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the future of interactive gambling. Virtual reality games are also poised to become more standard fare in casinos, as well as, team games that allow players to interact with other gamers in the same casino and around the world. Casinos will have to continue to develop innovative ways to incorporate new gaming technology into their establishment to avoid becoming an obsolete form of entertainment.
Modern consumers have higher expectations when it comes to both the types of games they want to see on the casino floor and the level of service. More than ever, patrons expect to visit a well-organized establishment that is able to provide fast and courteous service that helps create a memorable experience. The more casinos are able to provide both cutting-edge games and superior service and hospitality, the more they will be able to build brand loyalty and earn repeat business.
Once again, the solution to a better casino and impeccable service comes down to technology. Relying on powerful management and scheduling software, such as Casino Schedule Ease, allows large casinos with hundreds to thousands of employees to effectively fill openings and make sure that every aspect of the casino is appropriately staffed. A streamlined system with a centralized dashboard also makes it easy for employees to request time off and manage their own schedules. It is the best way to improve efficiency, drive profits and reduce the number of man-hours that are spent managing employees and scheduling.
While the casino industry is still profitable, its growth rate has slowed significantly over the past decades and more revenue is coming from entertainment than actual gambling. If casinos are able to expand into the right markets and continue to incorporate new games that address the evolving interests of customers, then they may be able to stabilize the industry. Brick and mortar casinos will also experience increased competition from online gambling, which makes the ability to provide a positive customer experience even more important. Simplifying the employee scheduling process with the right software is just one way to improve service and earn loyal customers.


text:
Books 2 Screen
Books 2 Screen is an international news site examining the relationship of the publishing, film and television industry, with reviews, recommendations, commentaries and agency.
Black Spark Film & TV Line-Up More Literary Adaptations
books2screen 11/02/2019 11/02/2019 Deals
'2018 was a landmark year for Stockholm-based producer Piodor Gustafsson, head of Black Spark Film & TV whose Oscar-nominated films "Border," "The Wife" and TV dramas "Moscow Noir "and "Sthlm Requiem" landed on screens worldwide. The producer also stepped up to his role as talent spotter/nurturer by adding the job of film and TV agent at Scandinavia's leading Salomonsson Agency.
Over the last 25 years, through his various roles as indie producer, film consultant for the Swedish Film Institute and commissioning editor for pubcaster SVT, Gustafsson has refined his editorial flair. "As decision-maker, you get to see a lot of projects that get made and you do get a feel of what works or not," he says.
Although widely diverse in genres, most of his productions are literary adaptations, often combining the daring with the mainstream. "Piodor harnesses unique universes and stories with a great narrative power and relatable characters," says Françoise Guyonnet, executive managing director of TV series at Paris-based Studiocanal, which reps Black Spark's series "Moscow Noir."
"Moscow Noir" debuted on Swedish broadcaster C More/TV4 on Dec. 24, and is based on a novel by Camilla Grebe and Paul Leander-Engstrom, and directed by Mikael Hafstrom ("Bloodline"). The thriller was launched at MIPCOM in 2018, together with Gustafsson's crime show "Sthlm Requiem," which is adapted from Kristina Ohlsson's best-selling book trilogy. Germany's ZDF Enterprises is on board as world distributor.
"Literary adaptations have huge advantages," says Gustafsson. "The author has already spent a lot of time developing the characters, setting and plot. Plus if a film or a TV drama is based on a well-known IP, adapted by an established writer, you can attract top directors and talent and everything goes faster."
Black Spark's feature film "Border" — Oscar-nominated for best hair and make-up — was also its literary source by "Let the Right One In" author John Ajvide Lindqvist. "His universe is incredibly original, both socially realistic and elevated, as he mixes everyday situations and conflicts with genre elements," notes the producer.
Gustafsson co-produced "The Wife," for which Glenn Close earned a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination for best actress. That was another "no brainer," he says, as an internationally-appealing drama, based on Meg Wolitzer's best-selling novel, adapted by Emmy-winner Jane Anderson, with Close's star-power and Swedish director Björn Runge's savoir-faire.
The next book-to-screen challenge for Gustafsson is the miniseries "Everything I Don't Remember," based on the August Prize-winning novel of the same name by Jonas Hassen Khemini, translated into more than 20 languages. In the series, a mother is looking into the circumstances surrounding her son's sudden death. Pernilla August stars with newcomers Siham Shurafa and Armand Mirpour. The show is set to air on SVT late 2019.
A major feature project in the pipeline is "Tigers," penned and helmed by "Borg/McEnroe" screenwriter Ronnie Sandahl. The biopic is based on former Inter Milan soccer wonderkid Martin Bengtsson's own experience of dealing with mental illness, told in his autobiography "In the Shadow of San Siro". Filming is set to start in May.'
books, the wife
Previous Alistair Legrand to Direct Stephen King's 'Mile 81'
Next Tom Bidegain & Noé Debré to Adapt 'The Siege of Mecca'
Books 2 Screen is an industry focused site for books to film and television adaptations.


text:
using System;
using System.Threading;
using GrFamily.ExternalBoard;
using GrFamily.MainBoard;
using Microsoft.SPOT;

namespace TemperatureTest
{
    public class Program
    {
        private Peach _peach;
        private Temperature _temperature;

        private Timer _testTimer = null;

        public static void Main()
        {
            var prog = new Program();
            prog.Run();
        }
        private void Run()
        {
            _peach = new Peach();
            _peach.Button.ButtonPressed += Button_ButtonPressed;

            _temperature = (new SensorBoard()).Temperature;
            _temperature.MeasurementComplete += _temperature_MeasurementComplete;
            _temperature.Interval = 1000;

            _testTimer = new Timer(PollingMeasure, null, new TimeSpan(0, 0, 1), new TimeSpan(0, 0, 1));

            while (true) { }
        }

        private int _testCase = 0;

        private void Button_ButtonPressed(Button sender, Button.ButtonState state)
        {
            _testCase = (_testCase + 1) % 2;

            switch (_testCase)
            {
                case 0:
                    _temperature.StopTakingMeasurements();
                    _testTimer.Change(new TimeSpan(0, 0, 1), new TimeSpan(0, 0, 1));
                    break;
                default:
                    _testTimer.Change(Timeout.Infinite, Timeout.Infinite);
                    _temperature.StartTakingMeasurements();
                    break;
            }
        }

        private void PollingMeasure(object state)
        {
            Debug.Print("Polling : " + _temperature.TakeMeasurement().ToString());
        }

        private void _temperature_MeasurementComplete(Temperature sender, Temperature.MeasurementCompleteEventArgs e)
        {
            Debug.Print("Event : " + e.Temperature.ToString());
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Fintech player Revolut raises $66m and plans Dublin office
Image: interstid/Shutterstock
Fintech fever hits Europe as Revolut is on a funding roll.
Revolut, which enables users to set up bank accounts in 60 seconds, is intent on causing a revolution in banking.
The London-based company has just raised $66m (€58m) in a Series B round led by Index Ventures and existing investors Balderton Capital and Ribbit Capital.
'The fintech revolution has been an astounding success across Europe, and now is the time to broaden our horizon and embark on our global mission'
– NIKOLAY STORONSKY
Revolut has so far raised a total of $83m, and will run a crowdfunding campaign in the coming weeks to raise a further $5m.
Europe stirred by Revolut
Founded in 2015 and led by Nikolay Soronsky, Revolut offers foreign currency to consumers abroad at the interbank rate available on the financial markets.
It allows users to open a current account in 60 seconds, and services include a pre-paid, contactless Mastercard debit card and currency exchange with 16 different currencies, as well as a peer-to-peer payments platform.
Revolut has attracted 700,000 customers across Europe – including approximately 40,000 in Ireland – and now has its heart set on a global expansion.
The company is also planning to launch personal international bank account number (IBAN) accounts across Europe, which will enable users to exchange, spend and transfer cryptocurrencies.
"Asia and North America are far from immune to hidden banking fees and dated technology," said CEO Storonsky in a statement.
"The fintech revolution has been an astounding success across Europe, and now is the time to broaden our horizon and embark on our global mission."
According to The Irish Times, Revolut intends to open a Dublin office and is currently recruiting for a number of positions, including an Irish country manager.
It is understood that at least 10,000 of its Irish customers have joined Revolut in the last three months alone.
Related: finance, e-commerce, crowdfunding, fintech, banking, funding and investment, Revolut
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Revolut to move Irish accounts to Lithuania due to Brexit
2 Oct 20202.35k Views
Ireland's banks team up to take on the challenge of Revolut and N26
4 days ago3.24k Views
Revolut to roll out lower-priced subscription plan in Europe
16 Dec 20205.91k Views


text:
T. L. L. TEMPLE FOUNDATION
Art Leatherwood
Thomas Lewis Latané Temple. Courtesy of The History Center. Image available on the Internet and included in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107.
T. L. L. TEMPLE FOUNDATION. The T. L. L. Temple Foundation was established in 1962 by Georgia Temple Munz in honor of her father, Thomas Lewis Latané Temple, an East Texas lumberman and founder of Southern Pine Lumber Company (later Temple Industries). It is an independent family foundation and nonprofit organization that supports education, health, community and social services, civic affairs and cultural programs, primarily in areas of the deep East Texas pine timber belt. The foundation has made Program-Related Investments (PRIs) in the form of loans to health organizations, a retirement community, and a college, as well as community revitalization efforts. By 2015, the foundation reported assets of over $445 million with grants totaling $21,386,477.
Handbook of Texas Online, Art Leatherwood, "T. L. L. TEMPLE FOUNDATION," accessed January 18, 2020, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/vrt02.
Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Modified on August 10, 2016. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.


text:
Messier Objects
Messier Objects: Guide to the Bright Galaxies, Nebulae and Clusters Listed in the Messier Catalogue
Messier Catalogue
Messier Object List
Messier 1: Crab Nebula
Messier 2
Messier 6: Butterfly Cluster
Messier 7: Ptolemy's Cluster
Messier 8: Lagoon Nebula
Messier 11: Wild Duck Cluster
Messier 12: Gumball Globular
Messier 13: Hercules Globular Cluster
Messier 15: Great Pegasus Cluster
Messier 16: Eagle Nebula
Messier 17: Omega Nebula
Messier 20: Trifid Nebula
Messier 22: Sagittarius Cluster
Messier 24: Sagittarius Star Cloud
Messier 27: Dumbbell Nebula
Messier 31: Andromeda Galaxy
Messier 32: Le Gentil
Messier 33: Triangulum Galaxy
Messier 36: Pinwheel Cluster
Messier 38: Starfish Cluster
Messier 40: Winnecke 4
Messier 42: Orion Nebula
Messier 43: De Mairan's Nebula
Messier 44: Beehive Cluster
Messier 45: Pleiades
Messier 50: Heart-Shaped Cluster
Messier 51: Whirlpool Galaxy
Messier 55: Summer Rose Star
Messier 57: Ring Nebula
Messier 63: Sunflower Galaxy
Messier 64: Black Eye Galaxy
Messier 67: King Cobra Cluster
Messier 74: Phantom Galaxy
Messier 76: Little Dumbbell Nebula
Messier 77: Cetus A
Messier 81: Bode's Galaxy
Messier 82: Cigar Galaxy
Messier 83: Southern Pinwheel Galaxy
Messier 87: Virgo A
Messier 94: Cat's Eye Galaxy
Messier 97: Owl Nebula
Messier 99: Coma Pinwheel
Messier 100
Messier 101: Pinwheel Galaxy
Messier 102: Spindle Galaxy
Messier 104: Sombrero Galaxy
Messier 108: Surfboard Galaxy
Messier 110: Edward Young Star
Messier Objects by Constellation
Messier Objects in Canis Major
Messier Objects in Cassiopeia
Messier Objects in Gemini
Messier Objects in Leo
Messier Objects in Ursa Major
Messier Marathon
Home » Messier 63: Sunflower Galaxy
Messier 63 (M63), also known as the Sunflower Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy located in the northern constellation Canes Venatici. The Sunflower Galaxy lies roughly 37 million light years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 9.3. Its designation in the New General Catalogue is NGC 5055.
Messier 63 is quite easy to find even though it lies in a relatively faint constellation. It is located about two thirds of the way from Alkaid, the bright star that marks the end of the Big Dipper's handle, to Cor Caroli, the brightest star in Canes Venatici.
The Sunflower Galaxy can be seen in binoculars, but it only appears as a small, hazy patch of light or an out-of-focus star. Small telescopes reveal it to be a galaxy, but do not show the details of its structure.
Medium and larger telescopes reveal the galaxy's bright core and an oval patch of nebulosity around it. The spiral arms can only be seen in 8-inch and larger telescopes, while the dust lanes appear only in larger instruments.
The best time of year to observe M63 from northern latitudes is during the spring.
Sunflower Galaxy (Messier 63). Image: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona
Messier 63 occupies an area of 12.6 by 7.2 arc minutes, which corresponds to a spatial diameter of 98,000 light years. This makes the galaxy roughly the same size as the Milky Way. M63 has a mass 140 billion times that of the Sun.
The Sunflower Galaxy is one of the four Messier galaxies found in Canes Venatici constellation, along with Messier 51 (the Whirlpool Galaxy), Messier 94 (the Cat's Eye Galaxy), and Messier 106.
Messier 63 is known for its appearance, for which it was named Sunflower, with a bright yellow central disc and a number of short spiral arm segments dotted with starburst regions and dust lanes. Infrared observations indicate that M63 has a two-armed spiral structure.
The Sunflower Galaxy is a prototype for a class of galaxies known as flocculent spirals. It appears to have many spiral arms because the arms appear patchy and discontinuous. Flocculent spirals are the opposite of grand design spiral galaxies, which have a clearly defined spiral structure.
Messier 63 spiral galaxy, 24 inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon, AZ. Image: Jschulman555 at wikipedia.org
Messier 63 is one of the members of the M51 Group, a group of gravitationally bound galaxies located in Canes Venatici, named after the brightest member of the group, Messier 51 (the Whirlpool Galaxy). The group also includes the edge-on spirals NGC 5023 and NGC 5229, and the irregular galaxy UGC 8331 (DDO 169).
A Type I supernova was detected in M63 on May 25, 1971. Designated SN 1971I, it reached a magnitude of 11.8 and was discovered in one of the galaxy's spiral arms.
In 2011, astronomers discovered a tidal stellar stream in the galaxy's halo. The faint giant arc-loop feature had been detected as early as 1979, but not connected to a minor merger with a dwarf satellite galaxy, disrupted as a result of interaction with M63. The stream of stars originated from the accretion of the smaller galaxy within the last 5 billion years. The fate of the dwarf galaxy is unknown, but the colour of the stars indicates that it was probably a galaxy belonging to the Local Group.
Image of the M63 galaxy in infrared at 3.6 (blue), 5.8 (green) and 8.0 (red) µm. The image has been made by Médéric Boquien from the data retrieved on the SINGS project public archives of the Spitzer Space Telescope (courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech)
The Sunflower Galaxy was discovered by Charles Messier's friend and colleague Pierre Méchain on June 14, 1779. This was the first deep sky object discovered by Méchain. Messier subsequently included the galaxy in his catalogue as the 63rd entry, describing it as a nebula. He noted:
Nebula discovered by M. Méchain in Canes Venatici. M. Messier searched for it; it is faint, it has nearly the same light as the nebula reported under no. 59 [Messier 59]: it contains no star, & the slightest illumination of the micrometer wires makes it disappear: it is close to a star of 8th magnitude, which precedes the nebula on the hour wire. M. Messier has reported its position on the Chart of the path of the Comet of 1779.
William Herschel observed the object less than a decade later and described it as a "very bright nebula, extending from north-preceding to south-following 9 or 10′ long, and near 4′ broad; it has a very brilliant nucleus."
The various spiral arm segments of the Sunflower galaxy, also known as Messier 63, show up vividly in this image taken in infrared light by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Infrared light is sensitive to the dust lanes in spiral galaxies, which appear dark in visible-light images. Spitzer's view reveals complex structures that trace the galaxy's spiral arm pattern. Messier 63 is 37 million light years away — not far from the well-known Whirlpool galaxy and the associated Messier 51 group of galaxies.
The dust, glowing red in this image, can be traced all the way down into the galaxy's nucleus, forming a ring around the densest region of stars at its center. The dusty patches are where news stars are being born. The short diagonal line seen on the lower right side of the galaxy's disk is actually a much more distant galaxy, oriented with its edge facing toward us.
Blue shows infrared light with wavelengths of 3.6 microns, green represents 4.5-micron light and red, 8.0-micron light. The contribution from starlight measured at 3.6 microns has been subtracted from the 8.0-micron image to enhance the visibility of the dust features. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SINGS Team
John Herschel catalogued M63 as h 1570 in May 1828 and later added it to the General Catalogue as GC 3474. He described the object as "bright; pretty much extended; very suddenly much brighter toward the middle, almost to a star [starlike nucleus], position angle 30deg north preceding [NW] to south following [SE]. The south following [SE] end [is] more diffused. Has a bright star north preceding [to the NW] and a double star following [to the east]."
Admiral William Henry Smyth observed M63 in August 1836 and offered the following description:
An oval nebula on the chest of Asterion, the northern dog; discovered by M. Méchain in 1779. This object is of a milky-white tint, and brightens to the centre, where the nucleus resembles a small star. It is placed between two telescopic stars which cross the parallel vertically, while closer to it in the sp [south preceding, SW] is a third. Sir W. Herschel figured this object in the Philosophical Transactions for 1811, and describes it as very bright, extending from np [north preceding, NW] to sf [south following, SE], 9′ or 10′ long, and near 4′ broad, with a very brilliant nucleus. The mean apparent place was differentiated from Cor Caroli, from which it bears north-north-east 5deg 1/2, on the line indicated from Denebola through Charles's Heart [Cor Caroli].
Messier 63 by GALEX. Image: NASA
Messier 63 was one of the first spiral galaxies in which the spiral structure was identified. The first to do so was William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse. Lord Rosse discovered spiral structures in M63 in the mid-19th century and included the object in his list of 14 "spiral nebulae," discovered until 1850.
Object: Galaxy
Type: Spiral
Class: SA(rs)bc
Designations: Messier 63, M63, NGC 5055, Sunflower Galaxy, PGC 46153, UGC 8334, B3 1313+422, IRAS F13135+4217, MCG+07-27-054, SDSS J131549.26+420145.8, Z 1313.5+4217
Constellation: Canes Venatici
Right ascension: 13h 15m 49.3s
Declination: +42°01'45"
Distance: 37 million light years
Number of stars: > 400 billion
Apparent magnitude: +9.3
Apparent dimensions: 12′.6 x 7′.2
Radius: 49,000 light years
Redshift: 484 km/2
Messier 63 location. Image: IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine (Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg)
Tags:AlkaidBig DipperCanes Venatici ConstellationCat's Eye GalaxyCor CaroliDDO 169GC 3474h 1570John HerschelLord RosseM51 GroupM63Messier 106Messier 51Messier 59Messier 63Messier 94NGC 5023NGC 5055NGC 5229Pierre MéchainSN 1971ISunflower GalaxyUGC 8331Whirlpool GalaxyWilliam Henry SmythWilliam Herschel
Messier 7: Ptolemy Cluster
* Pillars of Creation
* Mayall II
* Trapezium Cluster
Messier 43: De Mairan's Nebula
* Maia Nebula
* Merope Nebula
* Leo Triplet
* NGC 3628: Hamburger Galaxy
Messier 81: Bode's Galaxy
Messier 94: Cat's Eye Galaxy
Messier-Objects.com
Elliptical Galaxy
Emission Nebula
Galaxy Cluster
Galaxy Group
Irregular Galaxy
Lenticular Galaxy
Milky Way Star Cloud
Star-Forming Region
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text:
AdMonsters Playbook: Evolution of the Header
By Gavin Dunaway September 24, 2020
We decided now was a perfect time to survey publishers to understand their current header (and Open Bidding) setups while seeing what they were plotting for an ambiguous future. We asked 35 publishers of various sizes and content verticals to fill out an intense questionnaire, and the results were extremely…
AdMonsters Playbook: The Identity Connection
By Gavin Dunaway April 29, 2020
As the sunset of the third-party tracking cookie approaches, one of the most promising options—enabling publishers to monetize their audiences and advertisers to address audiences with confidence—is identity or people-based marketing. This playbook, created in partnership with Lotame, dives into identity as a concept and explains the wealth of advantages…
WITH THE SUPPORT OF Lotame
AdMonsters Playbook: Fill Rate Survey
By Gavin Dunaway December 12, 2019
On the surface, fill rate may seem like a simple enough metric—divide the number of impressions filled by the total number that were potentially available. But in reality, it's a very difficult calculation to make, particularly with an ever-widening pool of monetization channels. To better understand the role fill rate…
AdMonsters Playbook: Life Beyond Cookies
By Gavin Dunaway November 06, 2019
Much of the contemporary Internet—and certainly digital advertising—has been built upon tools for data transference. While the cookie has been key in the development of digital advertising and programmatic transactions in particular, the architecture is not going to collapse without it. Understanding why the third-party cookie has gone out of…
WITH THE SUPPORT OF LiveRamp
AdMonsters Playbook: Mobile App Ad Quality
In this playbook, developed in partnership with GeoEdge, we'll dive into why the mobile app space is due for an uptick, and why bad actors and malvetisers are likely to become even more of a threat.
AdMonsters Playbook: Combining Location-Based Context and Programmatic Scale
By Gavin Dunaway March 28, 2019
This playbook is for publishers, brands, and marketers who are looking for a snapshot of how location and programmatic fit together to create market-changing, consumer-forward approaches. In addition to helping publishers and advertisers understand the nuances of location data, this playbook represents a guide to the workings of private marketplaces…
WITH THE SUPPORT OF Verve
AdMonsters Playbook: Aligning Regulatory Compliance & User Experience
By Gavin Dunaway, Lynne d Johnson December 31, 2018
If digital media monetization was as easy as hooking up a slew of page placements to programmatic demand sources and just watching the revenue roll in, all of our lives would be far less stressful. We also probably wouldn't have jobs. No, there is a nuance to digital media monetization—dare…
AdMonsters Playbook: Demand Partner Evaluation and Ad Quality
By Brian LaRue June 04, 2018
Over the last few years, technological developments in the ad ecosystem have evolved to allow more publishers of varying sizes to add more demand partners into their stacks. What's more, the economic realities digital ad marketplace have brought us to a point where integrating with more than just a few…
AdMonsters Playbook: Building a Video Business
By Jess Tyler April 28, 2018
As broadband connectivity and processor speeds have rapidly accelerated, consumer behavior online has gradually shifted from reading to viewing hours and hours of video. Call it the "TV-ification" of the web—the internet has become a video-centric experience. The "Show Me, Don't Tell Me" revolution in consumer behavior online is fully…
WITH THE SUPPORT OF Tout


Look back on the stories our readers loved and shared the most this year.
In many respects, 2014 was a year of shifting balances within the K–12 technology world.
Late in the year, Google announced that its Chromebook notebooks had become the highest selling device in the K–12 market, thanks in part to their widespread adoption by school districts across the country. Stories of Chromebook rollouts proved popular throughout the year, as did our coverage of Google's release of Classroom, the company's latest addition to the Apps for Education suite.
This year also saw the flipped classroom teaching method being touted as mainstream, based on an online survey, which also showed that the number of elementary school teachers using the technique is on the rise.
Each of the ConnectIT blogs, written by two contributors from CDW, were well received by readers. These blogs deal with the struggles educators face when implementing technology in the classroom. In a similar vein, contributor Matt Renwick's overwhelmingly popular breakdown of how teachers can stay fluent in the language of education technology struck a chord with readers.
Among the top stories this year was our annual Top 50 Must-Read K–12 IT Blogs list, built with input from readers. The list covers nearly every aspect of the K–12 ed-tech industry. Through their influential work and their blogs, these thought leaders have garnered thousands of fans.


text:
Taxation of entertainers and sportsmen in Nigeria: What, how and where?
Taxation	 7914 VIEWS
Monday, May 8, 2017 10:30 AM / Deloitte
"An author, sportsman, playwright, musician, artist etc. that is resident in Nigeria would be liable to tax in Nigeria, on his worldwide income."
It is trite that around the world, entertainers and sportsmen are some of the highest paid individuals. Their sources of income are vast, ranging from performance and appearance fees to endorsement deals, royalties from image rights, tournament participation fees, etc. These incomes are often earned in multiple jurisdictions, which can potentially make accounting for appropriate taxes complicated. It is thus no surprise that many advanced economies have special tax regimes for such individuals, both resident and non-resident, to ensure that no potential tax revenue is permitted to escape assessment and collection.
Income generated by individual entertainers and sportsmen in Nigeria can be categorised broadly as follows:
income earned in Nigeria by resident entertainers and sportsmen e.g. fees earned for local appearances or performances
income derived from other jurisdictions by residents e.g. fees earned for international performances
income derived from Nigeria by non-residents e.g. fees earned by visiting international performers in Nigeria
Nigeria does not have a special tax regime for entertainers and sportsmen. Except as may be applicable under tax treaties, the same tax regime applicable to other individuals applies to entertainers and sportsmen.
Thus, an author, sportsman, playwright, musician, artist etc. that is resident in Nigeria would be liable to tax in Nigeria, on his worldwide income. Such tax would be assessed, collected and enforced by the relevant State Internal Revenue Service (SIRS) where the individual is deemed resident. Also, rules applicable to other individuals regarding exemption, reliefs and allowances apply.
For example, exemption will apply where income is earned abroad and brought into Nigeria through approved channels in foreign currencies and paid into a local domiciliary account.
It may be tempting to assume that this is straightforward. What then is the position with a non-resident author, sportsman, playwright, musician, artist etc. earning income from Nigeria? For example, could the relevant SIRS have charged:
Asa, the France-based Nigerian singer, to tax on the income derived from recent live performances in Nigeria?; or
Chimanda Ngozi Adichie, the US-based Nigerian author, to tax on income earned in Nigeria?; or
Beyoncé to tax on the earnings from her musical performance in Nigeria in 2006?
Conversely, what about cash or kind prizes won on reality shows by Nigerian or non-resident participants e.g. Gulder Ultimate Search, Idols Nigeria/West Africa, Big Brother Nigeria/Africa? Is there scope for taxing these winnings?
This brings to mind the just concluded "Big Brother Nigeria" (BBNaija) reality game show that was shot in South Africa (SA) with over 26 million votes counted from viewers and a grand prize of N25million plus a sports utility vehicle. Despite the excitement and euphoria that surrounded the winner of the grand prize, the relevant questions remain – will the relevant SIRS seek to tax winnings arising from the game show?
Specifically, would the BBNaija prizewinner be required to pay tax on the coveted prize? Is there any possibility that South Africa Revenue Service (SARS) would seek to assert any right to tax the BBNaija winner in SA? This is against the backdrop that South African tax laws2 require source withholding of tax, at the rate of 15%, for income earned from a sporting or entertainment activity that is carried out in SA by a nonresident person.
In considering the tax consequence for the BBNaija winners, it may be relevant to note that Nigeria has a double tax treaty (DTT) with SA. Based on general knowledge, the prizewinners of BBNaija are understood to be tax resident in Nigeria. This implies that they should be liable to tax on their worldwide income.
Again, based on publicly shared information, it appears BBNaija prizewinners were paid in Naira with the cash prize received in Nigeria (and not SA). If this is the case, the exemption provided by PITA for foreign-sourced income brought into Nigeria in foreign currency through government-approved channels may not be applicable.
Thus, whilst the potential for SA to seek to subject the same prize money to tax exists, the provision of Article 17 of the DTT between Nigeria and SA provides guidance on the jurisdiction with taxing rights. Specifically, this Article provides that the income derived by a resident of either Nigeria or SA as an entertainer, such as a theatre, motion picture, radio or television artiste, or a musician, or as a sportsperson, from his personal activities exercised in either country, may be taxed in that country where such activities were exercised.
The definitive word being "may" implies that while SA, based on its domestic tax laws, can subject the prize money to tax in SA, Nigeria reserves the right to tax the income based on residence principle. Clearly, this may lead to double taxation for the winner. However, we expect the provision of the DTT on elimination of double taxation to kick in. This means that any tax the winners pay in SA will be available as credit against tax due in Nigeria, in line with the provision of Article 22 - elimination of double taxation.
This position would appear to illustrate the potential tax consequence for Nigerian tax resident entertainers who earn income outside the shores of Nigeria. However, the situation with foreign entertainers etc. who earn income from Nigeria by way of personal activities exercised in Nigeria is far from resolved. Income derived in Nigeria from such personal activities by non-residents appear to be escaping assessment and collection, and when this leakage is aggregated could be significant. PITA may therefore require a further amendment to take the issue of taxability of non-resident entertainers and sportsmen beyond the realm of conjecture or speculation.
1. Alternatively, could Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), if these fees were earned though a corporate vehicle, have assessed for the income tax and value added tax due?
2. Tax and Non-Residents - SARS
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Jurors in the trial of Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme heard secretly recorded FBI tapes that reveal the former mob boss warning his son not to trust Steven DiSarro, who was later murdered.
The recording was captured at the Logan Airport Hilton by FBI agents who had set up in an adjacent room, according to retired FBI agent Vincent delaMontaigne.
Steven DiSarro, a Boston nightclub owner and Providence native, vanished in May 1993. His body was exhumed from behind a Providence mill building in 2016.
delaMontaigne testified on the seventh day of the trial against Salemme, 84, and codefendant Paul Weadick, 62. The pair - along with Salemme's late son - are accused of killing DiSarro because they feared he was going to cooperate with the FBI.
Investigators say Salemme watched as his son strangled DiSarro while Weadick held his legs at Salemme's home in Sharon, Massachusetts.
Notorious mobster Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi is expected to testify that he walked in while the murder was happening. Salemme and Weadick have pleaded not guilty.
Rhode Island mobster Joe DeLuca, 78, testified on Wednesday that Salemme then drove DiSarro's body to North Providence, and gave it to DeLuca. From there, DeLuca said he along with three others buried DiSarro behind a mill building on Branch Avenue in Providence owned by William Ricci.
According to The Boston Globe, Salemme's attorney questioned delaMontaigne about whether a mob boss would do grunt work such as driving a body to another state.
"If I'm the boss, I can do anything," delaMontaigne said.
Also expected to testify is Rhode Island capo Robert "Bobby" DeLuca, 72, Joe DeLuca's younger brother.
Investigators say Bobby DeLuca received a call from Salemme that he should expect "a package," which DeLuca knew to mean a body.
The younger DeLuca is in custody awaiting sentencing for lying to the FBI about what he knew of the DiSarro murder.
The FBI tape also references a longtime Rhode Island mobster, Luigi "Baby Shacks" Manocchio. Salemme is heard talking about how he wants to elevate Manocchio from capo.
"If I could make Louie an acting underboss," Salemme is heard saying, "when I'm out of town he takes over. Sometimes I get called down there or whatever - if a problem comes up, he handles it."