Salesforce reports are great for getting a handle on the numbers but Plotly allows for interactivity not built into the Reports Module in Salesforce. Luckily Salesforce has amazing tools around exporting data, from excel and csv files to a robust and reliable API. With Simple Salesforce, it's simple to make REST calls to the Salesforce API and get your hands on data to make real time, interactive charts.
This notebook walks you through that basic process of getting something like that set up. First you'll need Plotly. Plotly is a free web-based platform for making graphs. You can keep graphs private, make them public, and run Plotly on your own servers (https://plot.ly/product/enterprise/). To get started visit https://plot.ly/python/getting-started/ . It's simple interface makes it easy to get interactive graphics done quickly.
You'll also need a Salesforce Developer (or regular Salesforce Account). You can get a salesforce developer account for free at their developer portal.
I've stored my Salesforce login in a text file however you're free to store them as environmental variables. As a reminder, login details should NEVER be included in version control. Logging into Salesforce is as easy as entering in your username, password, and security token given to you by Salesforce. Here's how to get your security token from Salesforce.
At this time we're going to write a simple SOQL query to get some basic information from some leads. We'll query the status and Owner from our leads. Further reference for the Salesforce API and writing SOQL queries: http://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/soql_sosl/ SOQL is just Salesforce's version of SQL.
Now we'll use a quick list comprehension to get just our statuses from those records (which are in an ordered dictionary format).
Now we can take advantage of Plotly's simple IPython Notebook interface to plot the graph in our notebook.
While this graph gives us a great overview what status our leads are in, we'll likely want to know how each of the sales representatives are doing with their own leads. For that we'll need to get the owners using a similar list comprehension as we did above for the status.
For simplicity in grouping the values, I'm going to plug them into a pandas DataFrame.
Now that we've got that we can do a simple lead comparison to compare how our Sales Reps are doing with their leads. We just create the bars for each lead owner.
What's great is that plotly makes it simple to compare across groups. However now that we've seen leads, it's worth it to look into Opportunities.
By clicking on the "play with this data!" you can export, share, collaborate, and embed these plots. I've used it to share annotations about data and try out more colors. The GUI makes it easy for less technically oriented people to play with the data as well. Check out how the above was changed below or you can follow the link to make your own edits.
After comparing those two representatives. It's always helpful to have that high level view of the sales pipeline. Below I'm querying all of our open opportunities with their Probabilities and close dates. This will help us make a forecasting graph of what's to come soon.
Plotly makes it easy to create many different kinds of charts. The above graph shows the deals in the pipeline over the coming months. The larger the bubble, the more likely it is to close. Hover over the bubbles to see that data. This graph is ideal for a sales manager to see how each of his sales reps are doing over the coming months.
One of the benefits of Plotly is the availability of features.


Come race day, the Tarahumara don't train. They don't stretch or warm up. They just stroll to the starting line, laughing and bantering, and then go for it, ultra-running for two full days, sometimes covering over 300 miles, non-stop. For the fun of it. One of them recently came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing nothing but a toga and sandals. He was 57 years old.
When it comes to preparation, the Tarahumara prefer more of a Mardi Gras approach. In terms of diet, lifestyle and training technique, they're a track coach's nightmare. They drink like New Year's Eve is a weekly event, tossing back enough corn-based beer and homemade tequila brewed from rattlesnake corpses to floor an army.
Rattlesnake beer..... that sounds very, well, insane.


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Winning Formula
Read this featured blog post by Pastor Tony Rea
BY PASTOR TONY REA | FEBRUARY 1, 2021
The first month of 2021 is officially over. Man! Did that seem quick! As we make our way to the first weekend in February, you know what that means, Super Bowl LV is right around the corner.
This year the newly rejuvenated Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face off against the defending NFL world champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. On game day, when the final seconds tick off the clock, one of those two teams will hoist the highly coveted Vince Lombardi Trophy.
And speaking of Vince Lombardi, now that's a name not only associated with Super Bowl Sunday, but one that clearly stands alone, even when placed along side of the growing list of football greats.
Vince Lombardi is considered by most to be the greatest football coach in the history of the game. (Sorry Bill Belichick.) Under his leadership the Green Bay Packers were winners of Super Bowl 1 in 1967. Lombardi took over as head coach in 1959 and, with basically the same players, transformed a losing team into unrivaled contenders. During nine seasons, from 1959 through 1967, Lombardi led his team to five championships; and the Green Bay Packers became a football legend.
Lombardi, never at a loss for words, believed any individual could be as great as he or she wanted to be. He drilled his winning formula into the minds of his players and taught them to have courage, determination, and competitive drive. Lombardi believed with hard work and a willingness to pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, the impossible could be accomplished.
Lombardi was committed to success and was convinced no matter what the endeavor, desire and heart superseded talent and ability. He didn't just talk a good game; Vince Lombardi lived his life that way on and off the field. He was motivated by a tenacity that refused to allow him to think in terms of limitation or handicaps. Lombardi was sold out to his deep-seated convictions and had an uncanny manner of convincing others to follow the same characteristics that dominated his own lifestyle. Among these attributes were commitment, discipline, preparation, intensity, leadership, teamwork, and a heartfelt passion for winning.
Now, I may be wrong, but it appears as though a certain modern-day football hero bought into this same Lombardi winning philosophy. The player I'm referring to may well be the greatest NFL quarterback of all time (G.O.A.T.).
Of course I'm talking about Tom Brady, quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Prior to joining the Bucs this season Brady had an astonishing 20-year career with the New England Patriots, leading them to nine super bowl appearances and winning six titles, including Super Bowl Ll—the greatest comeback in super bowl history. (I just happened to be at that game.)
Now Brady has done it again! He has led his new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, to Super Bowl LV. Prior to this year, the Bucs experienced several miserable losing seasons in a row, going 5-11 in 2017 and 2018, and only winning 17 games in the last three years. (Even the Lions were better than that with 18 wins.) How embarrassing.
This year, with Tom Brady at the helm, the Bucs were 11-5 and they made the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. They beat Washington in the Wild Card round, defeated Drew Brees and the Saints in the division game, and pretty much shocked the sports world by knocking off Green Bay in the NFL Conference Championships. Now they're going to the big game.
Most of you who talk sports with me know I have never been a huge Tom Brady fan. There's no doubt, Brady has amazing talent and is highly competitive; he knows how to win. However, like Lombardi, I believe integrity and character trumps talent and ability. Additionally, leadership and teamwork rate really high on my personal priority scale, and I never thought of Brady as a good team leader. He had a hard time taking responsibility for failure, and for years and years I've watched an annoyed and arrogant Tom Brady lose his composure on the football field, at times throw tantrums and act like a child.
But this year, I witnessed a different Tom Brady. With his new teammates he had a lot more patience and self-restraint. If a receiver ran an errant route or dropped a catchable pass, if the referee missed a penalty or a disputed call didn't go his way, Brady didn't turn into a verbal madman, he handled it and played through the adversity.
This year Brady became a leader on the field and in the locker room. He taught the young Buc players to believe in themselves, and Brady convinced them they could win football games if they were willing to pay the price. In addition to his tremendous competitive edge, Brady modeled commitment, discipline, preparation, leadership, and teamwork. In so doing, he made everyone around him better; and come Sunday, believe it or not, I will be pulling for Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,
Everyone needs encouragement and wants to feel a part of something greater than themselves. Investing time in others and adding value to one another builds confidence and purpose. The power of leadership is best summarized with one word: influence. Our attitudes, actions, and behavior greatly impact those around us.
All in on the Great Commission
We exist to preach the gospel message and lead people to become fully-devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
Service Time: Sundays @ 10AM
42400 Ryan Road Sterling Heights, MI 48314
info@cccsterling.org
Copyright 2022, Community Christian Church. All Rights Reserved.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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(Redirected from Cause)
The Illustrated Sutra of Cause and Effect. 8th century, Japan
Causality is the relationship between an event (the cause) and a second event (the effect), where the second event is understood as a consequence of the first. The philosophical treatment of causality extends over millennia, stretches back at least to Aristotle.
1.1 Antiquity
1.2 Modern history, until 20th century
1.3 20th century
1.4 21st century
Antiquity[edit]
Cause means
(a) in one sense, that as the result of whose presence something comes into being—e.g., the bronze of a statue and the silver of a cup, and the classes which contain these [i.e., the material cause];
(b) in another sense, the form or pattern; that is, the essential formula and the classes which contain it—e.g. the ratio 2:1 and number in general is the cause of the octave—and the parts of the formula [i.e., the formal cause].
(c) The source of the first beginning of change or rest; e.g. the man who plans is a cause, and the father is the cause of the child, and in general that which produces is the cause of that which is produced, and that which changes of that which is changed [i.e., the efficient cause].
(d) The same as "end"; i.e. the final cause; e.g., as the "end" of walking is health. For why does a man walk? "To be healthy," we say, and by saying this we consider that we have supplied the cause [the final cause].
(e) All those means towards the end which arise at the instigation of something else, as, e.g., fat-reducing, purging, drugs and instruments are causes of health; for they all have the end as their object, although they differ from each other as being some instruments, others actions [i.e., necessary conditions].
Aristotle Metaphysics, Book 5, section 1013a, translated by Hugh Tredennick (online)
With ignorance as proximate cause, volitional formations come to be; with volitional formations as proximate cause, consciousness; with consciousness as proximate cause, name-and-form; with name-and-form as proximate cause, the six sense bases; with the six sense bases as proximate cause, contact; with contact as proximate cause, feeling; with feeling as proximate cause, craving; with craving as proximate cause, clinging; with clinging as proximate cause, existence; with existence as proximate cause, birth; with birth as proximate cause, suffering; with suffering as proximate cause, faith; with faith as proximate cause, gladness; with gladness as proximate cause, rapture; with rapture as proximate cause, tranquillity; with tranquillity as proximate cause, happiness; with happiness as proximate cause, concentration; with concentration as proximate cause, the knowledge and vision of things as they really are; with the knowledge and vision of things as they really are as proximate cause, revulsion; with revulsion as proximate cause, dispassion; with dispassion as proximate cause, liberation; with liberation as proximate cause, the knowledge of destruction.
Gautama Buddha, Saṃyutta Nikāya, Book 2, Verse 23, as translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi (2000), p. 555
Causa latet: vis est notissima.
The cause is hidden, but the result is known.
Ovid, Metamorphoses, IV. 287. in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 91.
Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.
Happy the man who has been able to learn the causes of things.
Virgil, Georgics (c. 29 BC), II, 490. in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 91.
Modern history, until 20th century[edit]
Causation is defined by some modern philosophers as unconditional uniformity of succession, e.g., existence of fire follows from putting a lighted match to the fuel.
This idea must be got rid of to understand force. All universally true laws of nature are laws of co-existence, not succession.
William Kingdon Clifford, "Energy and Force" (Mar 28, 1873) A previously unpublished lecture by Prof. Clifford before members of the Royal Institution, as described in Nature (May-Oct, 1880) Vol. 22, p. 123. with an introduction by J. F. Moulton.
Since therefore 'tis possible for all objects to become causes or effects to each other, it may be proper to fix some general rules, by which we may know when they really are so.
(1) The cause and effect must be contiguous in space and time.
(2) The cause must be prior to the effect.
(3) There must be a constant union betwixt the cause and effect. 'Tis chiefly this quality, that constitutes the relation.
(4) The same cause always produces the same effect, and the same effect never arises but from the same cause. This principle we derive from experience, and is the source of most of our philosophical reasonings. For when by any clear experiment we have discovered the causes or effects of any phaenomenon, we immediately extend our observation to every phenomenon of the same kind, without waiting for that constant repetition, from which the first idea of this relation is deriv'd.
(5) There is another principle, which hangs upon this, viz. that where several different objects produce the same effect, it must be by means of some quality, which we discover to be common amongst them. For as like effects imply like causes, we must always ascribe the causation to the circumstance, wherein we discover the resemblance.
(6) The following principle is founded on the same reason. The difference in the effects of two resembling objects must proceed from that particular, in which they differ. For as like causes always produce like effects, when in any instance we find our expectation to be disappointed, we must conclude that this irregularity proceeds from some difference in the causes.
(7) When any object encreases or diminishes with the encrease or diminution of its cause, 'tis to be regarded as a compounded effect, deriv'd from the union of the several different effects, which arise from the several different parts of the cause. The absence or presence of one part of the cause is here suppos'd to be always attended with the absence or presence of a proportionable part of the effect. This constant conjunction sufficiently proves, that the one part is the cause of the other. We must, however, beware not to draw such a conclusion from a few experiments. A certain degree of heat gives pleasure; if you diminish that heat, the pleasure diminishes; but it does not follow, that if you augment it beyond a certain degree, the pleasure will likewise augment; for we find that it degenerates into pain.
(8) The eighth and last rule I shall take notice of is, that an object, which exists for any time in its full perfection without any effect, is not the sole cause of that effect, but requires to be assisted by some other principle, which may forward its influence and operation. For as like effects necessarily follow from like causes, and in a contiguous time and place, their separation for a moment shews, that these causes are not compleat ones.
David Hume (1739-40) A Treatise of Human Nature. Book 1: Of the understanding/Part III. Sect. XV: Rules by which to judge of causes and effects.
If reason (I mean abstract reason, derived from inquiries a priori) be not alike mute with regard to all questions concerning cause and effect, this sentence at least it will venture to pronounce, That a mental world, or universe of ideas, requires a cause as much, as does a material world, or universe of objects; and, if similar in its arrangement, must require a similar cause. For what is there in this subject, which should occasion a different conclusion or inference? In an abstract view, they are entirely alike; and no difficulty attends the one supposition, which is not common to both of them.
David Hume (1779) Dialogues concerning Natural Religion. Philo to Cleanthes, Part IV
To all facts there are laws,
The effect has its cause, and I mount to the cause.
Owen Meredith (Lord Lytton), Lucile (1860), Part II, Canto III, Stanza 8. in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 91.
No suffering is self-caused.
Nothing causes itself.
If another is not self-made,
How could suffering be caused by another?
If suffering were caused by each,
Suffering could be caused by both.
Not caused by self or by other,
How could suffering be uncaused?
Nagarjuna Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 14.8–9
trans. Jay Garfield, The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way (1995), ISBN 0195093364
Ask you what provocation I have had?
The strong antipathy of good to bad.
Alexander Pope (1688–1744), Epilogue to Satires, Dialogue 2, line 205. in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 91.
Your cause doth strike my heart.
William Shakespeare, Cymbeline (1611), Act I, scene 6, line 118. in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 91.
Find out the cause of this effect,
Or rather say, the cause of this defect,
For this effect defective comes by cause.
William Shakespeare, Hamlet (1600-02), Act II, scene 2, line 101. in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 91.
God befriend us, as our cause is just!
William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part I (c. 1597), Act V, scene 1, line 120. in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 91.
Mine's not an idle cause.
William Shakespeare, Othello (c. 1603), Act I, scene 2, line 95. in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 91.
20th century[edit]
Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me that it is not yet the real thing. The theory says a lot, but does not really bring us any closer to the secret of the "old one." I, at any rate, am convinced that He does not throw dice.
Albert Einstein (1926) in letter to Max Born (4 December 1926); The Born-Einstein Letters (translated by Irene Born) (Walker and Company, New York, 1971) ISBN 0-8027-0326-7.
Einstein himself used variants of this quote at other times. For example, in a 1943 conversation with William Hermanns recorded in Hermanns' book Einstein and the Poet, Einstein said: "As I have said so many times, God doesn't play dice with the world." (p. 58)
Principle of causality is fundamental to human thinking, and it has been observed experimentally that this assumption leads to complex hypothesis formation by human subjects attempting to solve comparatively simple problems involving a causal randomly generated events.
Brian R. Gaines (1976) "On the Complexity of Causal Models" in: International Journal of General Systems, 1977.
Probabilistic causality is a branch of philosophy that attempts to explicate causal relationships in terms of probabilistic relationships. This attempt is motivated by several ideas and expectations. First and foremost, probabilistic causality promises a solution to the centuries-old puzzle of causal discovery — that is, how humans discover genuine causal relationships from bare empirical observations, free of any causal preconceptions. ... Second, in contrast to deterministic accounts of causation, probabilistic causality offers substantial cognitive economy. ... Third, probabilistic causality is equipped to deal with the modern (i.e. quantum-theoretical) conception of uncertainty, according to which determinism is merely an epistemic fiction and nondeterminism is the fundamental feature of physical reality.
Judea Pearl: Causality: Models, Reasoning, and Inference. Cambridge University Press. 2000. p. 249.
The atoms in the philosophy of Leucippus do not move merely by chance. Leucippus seems to have believed in complete determinism, since he is known to have said: "Naught happens for nothing, but everything from a ground and of necessity." The atomists did not give any reason for the original motion of the atoms, which just shows that they thought of a causal description of the atomic motion; causality can only explain later events by earlier events, but it can never explain the beginning.
Werner Heisenberg, Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modern Science (1958)
21st century[edit]
What is easier to remember, a collection of facts glued together, or a story, something that offers a series of logical links? Causality is easier to commit to memory. ...What is induction exactly? ...It is very handy, as the general takes much less room in one's memory than a collection of particulars. The effect of such compression is the reduction in the degree of detected randomness.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets (2001) Seven: The Problem of Induction | Sir Karl's Promoting Agent | Induction and Memory
Concepts Analysis • A priori and a posteriori • Causality • Demarcation problem • Fact • Inductive reasoning • Inquiry • Nature • Objectivity • Observation • Paradigm • Problem of induction • Scientific method • Scientific revolution • Scientific theory •
Related topics Alchemy • Epistemology • History of science • Logic • Metaphysics • Pseudoscience • Relationship between religion and science • Sociology of scientific knowledge
Philosophers of science Plato • Aristotle • Stoicism
Averroes • Avicenna • Roger Bacon • William of Ockham
Francis Bacon • Thomas Hobbes • René Descartes • Galileo Galilei • Pierre Gassendi • Isaac Newton • David Hume
Immanuel Kant • Friedrich Schelling • William Whewell • Auguste Comte • John Stuart Mill • Herbert Spencer • Wilhelm Wundt • Charles Sanders Peirce • Henri Poincaré • Pierre Duhem • Rudolf Steiner • Karl Pearson
Alfred North Whitehead • Bertrand Russell • Albert Einstein • Otto Neurath • C. D. Broad • Michael Polanyi • Hans Reichenbach • Rudolf Carnap • Karl Popper • W. V. O. Quine • Thomas Kuhn • Imre Lakatos • Paul Feyerabend • Jürgen Habermas • Ian Hacking • Bas van Fraassen • Larry Laudan • Daniel Dennett
Look up causality in Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Retrieved from "https://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Causality&oldid=2634735"


How Is Stephen Hawking So Stinking Wealthy?
The world's most famous theoretical physicist is also rich as hell. How is he rolling in so much dough?
Despite having been afflicted with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for most of his life and forced to compensate for the paralysis by using a wheelchair and a speech-generating device, noted physicist Stephen Hawking makes more money in a year than most of us will ever make in our entire lives. How is that? Do all researchers studying black holes and cosmology really have an estimated net worth of $20 million?
Stephen Hawking doesn't fit the bill of millionaire. He's a noted physicist and has done some groundbreaking research on black holes and cosmology. He has suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for most of his life and has been forced to compensate for his paralysis by using a wheelchair and a speech-generating device.
So how does Hawking have an estimated net worth of $20 million? Turns out, it's all about diversification. Hawking, at 72, has diversified his earnings from several different sources — and they all manage to pay out a pretty princely sum.
For starters, Hawking is the director of research at the Center for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. It's an incredibly prestigious role at an incredibly prestigious university. It therefore commands an incredibly prestigious salary.
But Hawking owes the majority of his fortune to other sources. He's a bestselling author, having authored and co-authored more than a dozen different books, each of which brings him a good chunk in royalties (A Brief History of Time was on the Sunday Times bestsellers list for more than four years). He's helped produce several films and has appeared in several movies and television shows. The talks and speeches he gives are each worth a hefty fee on their own.
Then, there's all the award money he earns for the accolades the world has lavishly bestowed upon him. One example: In 2012, Hawking earned a tidy $3 million in cash for winning the Fundamental Physics Prize, part of Russian billionaire Yuri Milner's Breakthrough Foundation.
And you can be sure that the 2014 film, The Theory of Everything, for which the dashing Eddie Redmayne won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Hawking, earned the physicist at least a few quid, and probably propelled him back into the spotlight to increase his speaking fees by a few healthy notches.
For his part, Hawking doesn't seem to care much for his fortune. He said so himself this past July, for an op-ed published in The Guardian, that he has "come to see money as a facilitator, as a means to an end – whether it is for ideas, or health, or security – but never as an end in itself." He acknowledges the role wealth has played in allowing him to live much longer than doctors predicted, but decries the obsessions modern society has about accruing such wealth for its own sake.
Regardless, there is no doubt Hawking has used his wealth to help increase his profile, expanding his influence in both the scientific realm and the public sphere. When the man says something about how robots will destroy humanity, or how climate change will destroy humanity, or how aliens will destroy humanity — really, anything about the destruction of humanity — people listen — and pay. When he throws his support behind interstellar space travel, people listen — and pay. When he makes it a point to encourage the world's young scientific minds and advise them to be "fearless", people listen — and, well, you get it now. Stephen Hawking is rich because people listen to him and are willing to pay him for his ideas.


Video elements are being integrated into trade show booths to attract more people, but in what ways can they be implemented to be most effective to draw people into booths. Brian Barry, LED3's lead technician was asked for his insight on how video has been used in the trade show booths with LED displays and the value that it has created for companies. "LED added to a booth engages a wow factor with your targeted audience. Trade show floor space is a premium so the ability to show multiple marketing components in the same digital footprint is key. The ability to show PowerPoint presentations, slideshows, videos, all within the same space sets it apart from delivering a single message on a static graphic." Companies have been looking to LED displays for their seamless looks and quality to show off interviews and YouTube videos of their products in real time.
Many companies are already incorporating LED technology and think that it is a great resource and seek out LED providers that are known for their work and quality products. "Most clients that attend tradeshows already know what LED can bring to their booth," says Brian, "They already know what they want to display on the wall, the questions they reach out to us are about native resolution, what size to build their tiles so that it can properly displayed without being stretched or contorted." Like a lot of creations, people have an idea of exactly what they want, but physically executing it is the tricky part.


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Peter Kater Winter Solstice House Concert: Boulder
Private Residence, Boulder, CO
Grammy-Winning/Multi-Platinum selling Pianist/Composer Peter Kater has been a leading innovator of contemporary instrumental music for over three decades. He's received many awards and accolades for his rich and diverse music, including 13 Grammy Award nominations. A prolific composer, he's released over 70 critically acclaimed recordings and has scored the music for over 100 television and film productions, including 11 On & Off-Broadway dramatic plays. From solo piano and contemporary jazz ensembles to full orchestral works, his music is heard all over the world, crossing many genres from the Olympics, the Kennedy Center, and Carnegie Hall to the treatment rooms of hundreds of thousands of massage and healing practitioners. He is known for his many groundbreaking collaborations with musicians such as Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai, Sting guitarist Dominic Miller and Sacred Chantress Snatam Kaur and archival songstress, Peia Luzzi. And as an avid environmentalist and humanitarian, Peter is a proud recipient of the Environment Leadership Award from the United Nations.The 90-minute concert starts promptly at 7 pm and is followed by a brief reception at 8:30 pm.


Mandala is a small unique homey place in downtown Budapest. We are located close to the main downtown tracks and sights (Danube-bank, Market Hall, Gellert-hill, curative thermal baths, museums).
Other advantages of the neighborhood are the inclusion of a supermarket, grocery store, pharmacy, post office, vegetarian restaurant, clubs, and cafes.
This is the perfect hostel for those who are travelling alone and like to meet others. Here, it's easy to socialize and hang together with an interesting mix of people.
Mandala is a very laid back and easy going hostel. It'll feel just like your home away from home!
**No bunk beds, no curfew, no lockout and no check out time!
Cancellations are free if made (phone or email) one calendar day before the arrival ! Otherwise we charge 1 night (the first night) of the reservation !


Saturday's Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in Kiev is a meeting of two sides with rich European histories.
Liverpool have won the famous competition on five occasions - more than any other English club - while Real are the tournament's most successful ever team. The Spanish side are the current holders and have lifted the trophy 12 times, including in each of the past two seasons.
Here, Sportsmail's Dominic King and Pete Jenson select their best XIs for Liverpool and Real Madrid respectively out of the players that helped their clubs to win the European Cup.
The command seems straightforward: think of Liverpool's five European Cup wins and put the composite XI together. The reality of putting an all-time great team together, though, is anything but easy.
Every time this correspondent had come close to finalising the selection, another name popped up and meant the need to begin again. And the more you start thinking about who should be included, the more you begin to make arguments for the names you have left out.
So here goes: there are some big calls to be made and one that will certainly split opinion. For starters, how can Phil Neal - who scored in two finals from right back and is Liverpool's most decorated player - not find a place in this team?
Here's how. Sportsmail's greatest Liverpool team in Europe would play a 3-4-2-1 formation. It might be unconventional but it finds a home for the men whose fingerprints are all over this famous trophy, not just in finals but at key points in those successful campaigns.
Who makes the substitutes bench is an argument that can be kept for another day... in the meantime you are welcome to join the debate.
Bruce Grobbelaar is synonymous with 1984 and Jerzy Dudek was integral to 2005 but selecting Clemence was easy. The greatest goalkeeper in Liverpool's history was there in Rome, Wembley and Paris and a model of consistency. He gets the gloves.
Certain images stay in your mind and the sight of Carragher cramped up and wincing in the final stages in Istanbul, desperately trying to clear his lines, will remain forever. The fifth European Cup would not have been won without his interventions.
Another local hero, the captain in Paris in 1981. He was elegant on the ball, ruthless in the tackle. He forged a partnership with the final pick in this defence that led to a transformation in Liverpool's style.
It seems lunacy not to include Alan Hansen and no disrespect is intended but Hughes simply has to be in this team. His beaming smile is synonymous with Rome in 1977 and Wembley in 1978. He was a leader and a majestic defender.
Strong and dynamic, hard but blessed with flair, McDermott's goal in Rome 41 years ago against Borussia Moenchengladbach was the catalyst for the club's greatest night. Another three-time winner, he must be included.
The man whose goal completed the miracle comeback in Istanbul, Alonso was a glorious player, someone who could have played in any of the great teams that went before.
His display in the second leg of the quarter-final against Juventus, when returning after three months out with a broken ankle, was key to Liverpool's progress.
After Clemence, his was the easiest pick. Set the winner up in 1978 - he always says the inch-perfect pass to Kenny Dalglish was a 'mis-control' - but his crowning moment for Liverpool was in 1984 when he laid the foundations for success in Rome.
The penalty he scored in the shootout - drilled into the top right corner - needs to be seen to be believed.
He was described by Bob Paisley in his autobiography as one of Liverpool's most under-rated players but he shouldn't be.
In today's market, he would have been worth in excess of £80million. Here was a man for the big occasion.
He had unflappable temperament and magnificent ability. He popped up with critical goals at key points in those first three European Cup campaigns.
Paolo Maldini once told Sportsmail that if he could go back in time, he would shout at Jaap Stam in the 54th minute of the 2005 Champions League final and tell him to pick up Liverpool's captain.
He didn't, Gerrard scored and a fairytale started to come true. His performances at times on the road to Istanbul were not so much inspired but a personal crusade.
There isn't much original that can be said about the club's greatest player but the idea of him and Gerrard and being supplied ammunition by Alonso and Souness is one that even now would have supporters drooling.
You cannot think about Liverpool in the European Cup without seeing Dalglish scoring his winning goal against Bruges in 1978 and hurdling Wembley's advertising hoardings in delight.
Five of his record 346-goal haul came during the successful 1983-84 campaign, including vital strikes against Athletic Bilbao and Benfica, before a double in the second leg of the semi-final away against Dinamo Bucharest.
Converted a penalty in the shootout for good measure against Roma, too. Mohamed Salah might be the current darling of Anfield but Rush sets the standards by which all Liverpool forwards are judged. Nobody else could lead this team's line.
With the greatest respect to Joe Fagan and Rafa Benitez, nobody else could have led this group.
There are gates at Anfield in his honour, with three European Cups proudly on display.
He is the only man to achieve this feat as a manager with one club. It is remarkable to think that his services to football were never recognised with a knighthood.
First of all, I can't believe Dominic's going with a back-three against the all-time Real Madrid European Cup XI. And as for leaving out Phil Neal, Madrid will try to punish him there with Marcelo and Paco Gento both steaming down the left.
The major absentees from this team come from that incredible period when they wouldn't let anyone else win the tournament from 1956 to 1960. Marquitos, Juan Alonso, Hector Rial, Raymond Kopa, and the most criminally overlooked of all Ferenc Puskas. How can you put the 'Galloping Major' on the bench after he scores four goals in the Hampden Park final in 1960.
The line-up is more or less 4-3-3 although you wouldn't really insult these players with a strict formation. Di Stefano and Ronaldo can swap centre-forward duties. And Zidane can tuck right in on the left side of the three in midfield allowing Marcelo to play more or less alongside him.
It's a team full of skill but it's tough too. Ramos, Hierro, Zidane and Modric won't shrink away from anything.
Juan Alonso was in the team that won Real Madrid the first five European Cups but it has to be Iker. He was only 19 when he won it in 2000 and then he came off the bench to win it again as a 21-year-old in 2002 with a brilliant last 20 minutes.
Marquitos was on the right of a back three in the 50s and scored to make it 3-3 in the first ever final that Madrid won 4-3 in Paris in 1956. But Carvajal, who played 120 monumental minutes when Madrid won their 10th European Cup, gets the nod.
Without his goal in the 94th minute Real Madrid would never have won in Lisbon in 2014. No defender has dominated the competition the way he has in both boxes.
Hierro by name, Hierro by nature - 'Hierro' meaning 'iron' in Spanish. Tough but good enough on the ball to have played half of his career in midfield.
Maybe the greatest left back in history. And the only thing wrong with that bold declaration is the word 'back'. Always on the front foot, scored the third that really put paid to Atletico Madrid in 2014.
It's between Modric and Toni Kroos but Luka was there in 2014, 2016 and 2017 for Madrid. He will get up and down the right side of the pitch for Real Madrid with the same amount of energy in the last 10 minutes as the first.
Gets in the team for his backheeled flick past Henning Berg in 2000 alone. That piece of skill at Old Trafford set up Raul to score in a quarter-final victory over United. Cultured defensive midfielder who played in the final that season winning his second European Cup for the club.
Scorer of arguably the greatest Champions League final goal ever from not the greatest pass from Roberto Carlos. It drops behind him but Rudolf Nureyev meets Hotshot Hamish and whoosh!
Gento was so unstoppable in Real Madrid's 7-3 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1960 final he could have gone into the 127,000 record crowd at Hampden and still not lost the ball.
In the spirit of the modern game he could play on his 'wrong' side on the right coming on to his left foot. But out of deference to the man with more European Cups than any other player it's going to be Ronaldo who switches.
The competition's all-time top scorer is the first name on the teamsheet. Can start on the right and not on the left where he prefers but there will be plenty of scope to switch with the man who has to be the second name on the team-sheet: Di Stefano.
Another who it's worth watching the 7-3 at Hampden for, especially the seventh Madrid goal. Eintracht have had the audacity to reduce the deficit to 6-2 so Madrid promptly score from the restart with Di Stefano running from the edge of the centre circle to the edge of the penalty area before blasting the ball into Egon Loy's left-hand corner.
Was the manager in 1960 and then rebuilt the team to win again in 1966. He also won the league nine times.
And he won the European Cup twice as a player before quitting aged 36 when he saw himself in the cinema during a broadcast of one of his games and noticed how out of condition he looked.
He had been Di Stefanos's team-mate and he managed to make the successful transition to being his boss. Much like Zidane he had been there and done it so the players respected him.


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text:
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
By Erika Maritnez
April 8, 2006 | 4:00am
*** Police are asking for the public's assistance in identifying and finding a bandit who robbed an Arverne bank.
The middle-aged robber (above) walked into a Bank of America branch on Beach Channel Drive at 1:30 p.m. on March 31 and demanded that a teller give him money, cops said.
After he received the cash, the suspect – a light-skinned Hispanic man who stands between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-9 and weighs 125 to 150 – fled south on Beach 67th Street, authorities said.
*** A trio of masked men robbed the inhabitants of a Jamaica Estates home, police sources said yesterday.
The three hoodlums broke into a Radnor Road home at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday, herded a family of five into a second-floor master bedroom and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and jewelry, sources said.
The suspects, who wore gloves during the heist, fled without harming the residents.
*** An East Harlem man has turned himself in for shooting a man to death in Harlem, authorities said yesterday.
Derrick McCullough, 22, a k a "Fatz," wanted in the Jan. 21 murder of 19-year-old Tyrell Carter, surrendered to cops at the 28th Precinct at 3:45 p.m. Thursday, cops said.
McCullough, of East 110th Street, allegedly shot Carter, a longtime friend, on West 119th Street as they argued, police sources said.
Carter was rushed to St. Luke's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
*** A man was found hanged under the entranceway stairs of a Midtown building early yesterday, police sources said.
The man, whose name was withheld pending family notification, was found hanging from electric piping under the front stairs of a West 49th Street apartment building at around 9 a.m., sources said.
The building's superintendent made the gruesome discovery. The body was partially visible from the street.
*** Police yesterday identified a man shot to death on a Harlem street corner Thursday.
Barry Miller, 36, of The Bronx, was shot once in the head at the intersection of Lenox Avenue and West 114 Street at 8:55 p.m., cops said.
Miller was pronounced dead at the scene, and his three assailants fled the scene.
*** Two men shot during a Harlem gunfight – one fatally – may have been shooting at each other, authorities said yesterday.
Detectives are probing the possibility that Cash Robinson, 19, and a 22-year-old man whose name was not released were firing at each other in the courtyard of the DeWitt Clinton Houses at East 109th Street and Lexington Avenue at 8 p.m. Thursday.
Robinson, of The Bronx, was pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital, and the older man, who was treated for a pelvis injury, was taken to New York Hospital in stable condition.
*** A teenager was shot as he walked out of a Bedford-Stuyvesant deli, police sources said yesterday.
The 16-year-old victim told cops he was targeted by an unidentified gunman as he left a shop on Marcus Garvey Boulevard near Vernon Avenue at 12:48 a.m. Thursday, sources said.
The victim was taken to Kings County Hospital with a gunshot wound in his groin and two bullet wounds to his inner thigh.
Investigators found two rounds and three bullet fragments at the scene. The triggerman remains at large.
*** A Crown Heights robbery target was shot – and then arrested after hospital officials found drugs on him, police sources said yesterday.
Paris Colon, 25, was shot once in the buttocks on Humboldt Street in Williamsburg at 9:20 p.m. on Thursday after a man tried to rob him, sources said.
Colon told detectives that as the assailant pistol-whipped him the gun went off, authorities said.
Bellevue Hospital staffers said they found 18 plastic bags of crack on Colon, who was charged with drug possession.
Filed under blotter
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Just getting things set up for next year, which sounds like a long way away, but it's really just next month. For 2019 I am planning to get back to blogging again on a regular basis.
Looking forward to new tech and new hardware, less time on social media, new challenges in life, and last but not least I need to finish that book I am writing.
Posted bydarekmeridian December 5, 2018 December 7, 2018 Posted inUncategorizedLeave a comment on Hello New Year!
Forbin Project 2019, Proudly powered by WordPress.


How's the GPU comparing to the next gen Xbox?
Wow, so this was completely unexpected. Well ahead of E3 and their separate official PS5 event, Sony is dropping knowledge kernels on us as to what the next generation of hardware actually entails, and the info is substantial.
Fed to us by way of a Wired article, Mark Cerny (who is once again the lead system architect for this project) declares that the PS5 (or whatever it's called, a name was not given) will not arrive in 2019. That's not a rumor or a guess, that's straight from Cerny's mouth. Oh, and it's a box! It's weird to say in this era of Google Stadia and the like, but it will be a console with hardware inside and it will support physical media. Since it's "partly based on current architecture," it'll also be backward compatible with PS4 games. Cerny was not ready to talk about PSVR support or where they were going next with VR.
That hardware, mind, is said to be "a CPU is based on the third generation of AMD's Ryzen line and contains eight cores of the company's new 7nm Zen 2 microarchitecture," with a GPU that's "a custom variant of Radeon's Navi family, will support ray tracing, a technique that models the travel of light to simulate complex interactions in 3D environments." Sony is hyping up ray tracing as akin to a $10,000 high-end "Hollywood" visual effect: how much of that magic will translate on a gaming console is yet to be seen. 8K video (as well as 4K obviously) is also confirmed.
Cerny also made sure that the PS5 was fitted with an SSD, which has much more tangible and obvious benefits. Sony promises faster load times as a result, which Cerny tests using Spider-Man on a PS4 Pro and a next-generation dev-kit: the load goes from 15 seconds to 0.8 seconds. Right, games! As for software, that's all up in the air. The Spider-Man demo is telling (Spider-Man 2 for PS5 has got to be in the works), and Wired points out that a smile from Cerny when asked about Death Stranding all but confirms it as a PS4/PS5 cross-generational release.
Before all of this is officially unveiled, Microsoft will get the chance to steal Sony's thunder at E3 when it's expected to reveal the next Xbox. We might also get a Switch Pro or Switch Mini announcement from Nintendo if rumors are correct. The next generation is on our doorstep, ladies and gentlemen, and it seems like it'll be a battle of physical consoles versus the impending doom of the cloud.


text:
Dec 11, 2012 By Jewish National Fund Category: Blueprint Negev,
Bedouin life - a "new" model of sustainable living
While "sustainability" is the environmental buzz word of the day, the Negev Bedouins have been part of this trend since their earliest days. Their nomadic lifestyle has roots in making the most out of the dry regional landscape in which they live. Bedouins have been practicing sustainable farming and agricultural techniques in the desert environment for thousands and thousands of years. There is so much we can learn from their model and now JNF is working in partnership with the Bedouin municipality of Hura to do just that!
Bedouin practices have historically relied on herding sheep for meat, milk, and clothing - using every part of the animal, letting no part go to waste. They have collected, saved and plantedancient seeds, some which are no longer available otherwise, which are favorable to the desert's unique growing challenges.
Since the urbanization of Negev Bedouin life at the start of the Ottoman rule, most have lost their connection to these ancient practices as their lifestyles have been more "modernized" and therefore less sustainable. Project Wadi Attir is a collaboration meant to get Bedouins back to their ancient practices and to serve as a model for desert communities worldwide.
Jewish National Fund is working with the Bedouin Hura Municipal Council on this truly unique and empowering collaboration. The project was designed by The Sustainability Laboratories and the local population to help bring back these ancient techniques with the purpose of creating community based enterprise combining Bedouin aspirations, values and experience with sustainability principles, modern day science and cutting edge technologies.
The core of the enterprise will involve raising several hundred goats and sheep, to produce organic meat and dairy products. In addition, a significant portion of the farm will be dedicated to the cultivation of a wide variety of medicinal plants that have been valued by generations of Bedouins for their health benefits. The medicinal plant operation will showcase and preserve Bedouin knowledge of natural remedies and will produce a line of healing and body care products. Project Wadi Attir is also re-introducing the production of highly nutritious, desert hardy, indigenous vegetables which once formed an important part of the Bedouin diet, using the ancient seeds that have been saved over many generations. In addition to growing these native vegetables on the site, a seed bank will be created and a women-led program will be launched to help spread the cultivation of vegetable gardens on family managed plots - empowering local women and girls!
Imagine - a project that connects urban Bedouins with their traditional practices, that generates new income, and re-introduces a healthier lifestyle into the community, all while serving as a model for communities in similar landscapes worldwide! The project has attracted many collaborators, including the Bedouin community members, university scientists and researches, local non-profit organizations, a nearby kibbutz, government agencies and private sector companies. Project Wadi Attir has recently been established as the first ever, Bedouin agricultural cooperative in Israel.
Sustainability is not a new concept! We have much to learn from cultures, like the Bedouins, who are experts in conserving the small resources available to them and making the best use of their sparse environment!


text:
site: media | arena: nba | pageType: stories | section: | slug: sale-of-clippers-to-steve-ballmer-closes-donald-sterling-out | sport: basketball | route: article_single.us | 6-keys: media/spln/nba/reg/free/stories
Sale of Clippers to Steve Ballmer closes; Donald Sterling out
The sale of the Los Angeles Clippers to Steve Ballmer closed Tuesday, the NBA announced, ending a nearly four-month effort to oust Donald Sterling as owner of the team.
By Ken Berger
Aug 12, 2014 at 9:00 am ET 3 min read
Donald Sterling, 80, challenged the league at every turn with no success. (Getty)
Berger: Burden lifted with sale | Rivers to talk extension| Latest from Ken Berger
Donald Sterling is officially out as owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, ending a nearly four-month effort to oust him after racially insensitive comments were made public.
The sale of the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion closed Tuesday, the NBA announced in a news release. The purchase agreement closed after a California court issued a written order affirming that Sterling's wife, Shelly, has the legal authority to sell the team on behalf of the Sterling Family Trust, the league announced.
The $2 billion sale price is by far the highest in NBA history, and the sale marks the end of an emotional, combative showdown between Donald Sterling, his fellow owners and commissioner Adam Silver.
Silver, not even 90 days into his term as David Stern's successor, banned Sterling from the NBA for life and fined him $2.5 million on April 29 after audio recordings of the owner's insensitive comments about blacks and other minorities were aired by the celebrity gossip outlet TMZ. Silver at that time also urged the Board of Governors to initiate a forced sale of the team under the league's Constitution and By-Laws.
Sterling, 80, challenged the league at every turn, including a last-ditch effort to block a California probate court's decision to pave the way for the deal. Shelly Sterling's ownership transfer agreement with Ballmer called for the deal to close by this Friday.
The NBA approved the sale of the team to Ballmer in May, and the Board of Governors ratified the deal electronically by a unanimous vote of 29-0 on Monday, a league source told CBSSports.com.
"I am humbled and honored to be the new owner of the Los Angeles Clippers," Ballmer said in a statement released by the Clippers. "Clipper fans are so amazing. They have remained fiercely loyal to our franchise through some extraordinary times. I will be hard core in giving the team, our great coach, staff and players the support they need to do their best work on the court. And we will do whatever necessary to provide our fans and their families with the best game-night experience in the NBA."
Clippers coach and president Doc Rivers, who has expressed doubt about whether he'd honor the two years left on his contract if Donald Sterling remained the owner, called it "an amazing new day in Clippers history."
"I couldn't be more excited to work together with Steve as we continue to build a first-class, championship organization," Rivers said. "I am already inspired by Steve's passion for the game, his love of competition and desire to win the right way and I know our players and fans are going to be inspired as well."
There was no immediate comment from Donald Sterling or his legal representatives. A league source confirmed a Los Angeles Times report Tuesday that the NBA has filed a counterclaim against Donald Sterling, asserting that the former owner has caused "devastating and incalculable harm" to the league.
The counterclaim, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, seeks damages and expenses related to the league's investigation of Sterling and its defense of the former owner's federal lawsuit. It also calls for enforcement of two separate agreements indemnifying the NBA against losses and litigation costs. One was signed by Donald Sterling in July 2005, the league asserts in its counterclaim. The other was signed by Shelly Sterling when the NBA dropped its pursuit of a forced sale and agreed to allow her to pursue the deal with Ballmer.
The ordeal was a test of Silver's leadership, and also a test of Sterling's resolve. The deposed owner still has a $1 billion lawsuit pending against the NBA, and he is expected to continue pursuing any and all legal appeals, a person familiar with the matter said. NBA lawyers are confident that the language in Tuesday's court ruling insulates the transfer of ownership to Ballmer from legal challenges. This means that Donald Sterling's only recourse at this point is monetary damages -- which, in essence, would be paid by the Sterling Family Trust based on Shelly Sterling's indemnification agreement.
Even after saying he would drop his lawsuit, Donald Sterling fought his wife's authority to sell the team in a case that called Donald Sterling's mental capacity into question. A Los Angeles Superior Court ruled in Shelly Sterling's favor last month after combative testimony in which Donald Sterling vowed that he would "never, ever sell" the team. He bought the Clippers in 1981 for $12.5 million.
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Each year, HSE holds a competition for the best teacher. For the first time, this year's elections for the best teachers will be open to foreign students at HSE on academic exchange programmes. Elena Artyukhova and Svetlana Samsonova speak about how voting will be organized for foreign students.


text:
#pragma once

#include <variant>

#include <glm/ext.hpp>
#include <glm/glm.hpp>
#include <glm/gtx/quaternion.hpp> // glm::rotate(quat, vector)

namespace megamol::core::view {

namespace {
class FloatValue {
public:
    FloatValue() : _value(0.0f) {}
    FloatValue(float value) : _value(value) {}
    ~FloatValue() = default;

    float value() const {
        return _value;
    }
    operator float&() {
        return _value;
    }
    operator float() const {
        return _value;
    }

private:
    float _value;
};
} // namespace

class Camera {
public:
    struct Pose {
        Pose() = default;
        Pose(Pose const& cpy) : position(cpy.position), direction(cpy.direction), up(cpy.up), right(cpy.right) {}
        Pose(glm::vec3 const& position, glm::vec3 const& direction, glm::vec3 const& up, glm::vec3 const& right)
                : position(position)
                , direction(direction)
                , up(up)
                , right(right) {}
        Pose(glm::vec3 const& position, glm::quat const& orientation) : position(position) {
            direction = glm::rotate(orientation, glm::vec3(0.0, 0.0, -1.0));
            up = glm::rotate(orientation, glm::vec3(0.0, 1.0, 0.0));
            right = glm::cross(direction, up);
        }

        glm::quat to_quat() const {
            return glm::quatLookAt(direction, up);
        }

        glm::vec3 position;
        glm::vec3 direction;
        glm::vec3 up;
        glm::vec3 right; //store additional right vector to avoid inconsistent computation
    };

    enum ProjectionType { PERSPECTIVE, ORTHOGRAPHIC, UNKNOWN };

    class FieldOfViewY : public FloatValue {
    public:
        FieldOfViewY() = default;
        FieldOfViewY(float fovy) : FloatValue(fovy) {}
    };

    class FrustrumHeight : public FloatValue {
    public:
        FrustrumHeight() = default;
        FrustrumHeight(float frustrum_height) : FloatValue(frustrum_height) {}
    };

    class AspectRatio : public FloatValue {
    public:
        AspectRatio() = default;
        AspectRatio(float aspect_ratio) : FloatValue(aspect_ratio) {}
    };

    class NearPlane : public FloatValue {
    public:
        NearPlane() = default;
        NearPlane(float aspect_ratio) : FloatValue(aspect_ratio) {}
    };

    class FarPlane : public FloatValue {
    public:
        FarPlane() = default;
        FarPlane(float aspect_ratio) : FloatValue(aspect_ratio) {}
    };

    // Use image plane tile defintion to shift the image plane
    // or to restrict the camera (projection matrix) to a limited area
    // within the frustrum given by fovy and aspect or by frustrum height and aspect
    struct ImagePlaneTile {
        ImagePlaneTile() : tile_start(glm::vec2(0.0f)), tile_end(glm::vec2(1.0f)){};
        ImagePlaneTile(glm::vec2 const& start, glm::vec2 const& end) : tile_start(start), tile_end(end){};

        glm::vec2 tile_start; //< lower left corner of image tile in normalized coordinates
        glm::vec2 tile_end;   //< upper right corner of image tile in normalized coordinates
    };

    struct PerspectiveParameters {
        FieldOfViewY fovy;    //< vertical field of view
        AspectRatio aspect;   //< aspect ratio of the camera frustrum
        NearPlane near_plane; //< near clipping plane
        FarPlane far_plane;   //< far clipping plane

        ImagePlaneTile image_plane_tile; //< tile on the image plane displayed by camera
    };

    struct OrthographicParameters {
        FrustrumHeight frustrum_height; //< vertical size of the orthographic frustrum in world space
        AspectRatio aspect;             //< aspect ratio of the camera frustrum
        NearPlane near_plane;           //< near clipping plane
        FarPlane far_plane;             //< far clipping plane

        ImagePlaneTile image_plane_tile; //< tile on the image plane displayed by camera
    };

    Camera();
    Camera(glm::mat4 const& view_matrix, glm::mat4 const& projection_matrix);
    Camera(Pose const& pose, PerspectiveParameters const& intrinsics);
    Camera(Pose const& pose, OrthographicParameters const& intrinsics);
    ~Camera() = default;

    template<typename CameraInfoType>
    CameraInfoType get() const;

    // future work: type-based setter
    //template<typename CameraInfoType>
    //void set(CameraInfoType value);

    glm::mat4 getViewMatrix() const;

    glm::mat4 getProjectionMatrix() const;

    ProjectionType getProjectionType() const;

    void setPerspectiveProjection(PerspectiveParameters const& intrinsics);

    void setOrthographicProjection(OrthographicParameters const& intrinsics);

    Pose getPose() const;

    void setPose(Pose pose);

private:
    glm::mat4 _view_matrix;
    glm::mat4 _projection_matrix;

    Pose _pose;

    std::variant<std::monostate, PerspectiveParameters, OrthographicParameters> _intrinsics;

    friend bool operator==(Camera const& lhs, Camera const& rhs);

    void updateProjectionMatrix();
};

inline bool operator==(Camera::Pose const& lhs, Camera::Pose const& rhs) {
    bool retval = true;
    retval &= (lhs.position == rhs.position);
    retval &= (lhs.direction == rhs.direction);
    retval &= (lhs.up == rhs.up);
    return retval;
}

inline bool operator==(Camera::ImagePlaneTile const& lhs, Camera::ImagePlaneTile const& rhs) {
    bool retval = true;
    retval &= (lhs.tile_start == rhs.tile_start);
    retval &= (lhs.tile_end == rhs.tile_end);
    return retval;
}

inline bool operator==(Camera::PerspectiveParameters const& lhs, Camera::PerspectiveParameters const& rhs) {
    bool retval = true;
    retval &= (lhs.fovy == rhs.fovy);
    retval &= (lhs.aspect == rhs.aspect);
    retval &= (lhs.near_plane == rhs.near_plane);
    retval &= (lhs.far_plane == rhs.far_plane);
    retval &= (lhs.image_plane_tile == rhs.image_plane_tile);
    return retval;
}

inline bool operator==(Camera::OrthographicParameters const& lhs, Camera::OrthographicParameters const& rhs) {
    bool retval = true;
    retval &= (lhs.frustrum_height == rhs.frustrum_height);
    retval &= (lhs.aspect == rhs.aspect);
    retval &= (lhs.near_plane == rhs.near_plane);
    retval &= (lhs.far_plane == rhs.far_plane);
    retval &= (lhs.image_plane_tile == rhs.image_plane_tile);
    return retval;
}

inline bool operator==(Camera const& lhs, Camera const& rhs) {
    bool retval = true;

    retval &= (lhs._view_matrix == rhs._view_matrix);
    retval &= (lhs._projection_matrix == rhs._projection_matrix);
    retval &= (lhs._pose == rhs._pose);

    return retval;
}

inline Camera::Camera() : Camera(glm::mat4(1.0f), glm::mat4(1.0)) {}

inline Camera::Camera(glm::mat4 const& view_matrix, glm::mat4 const& projection_matrix)
        : _view_matrix(view_matrix)
        , _projection_matrix(projection_matrix)
        , _intrinsics(std::monostate()) {

    const glm::vec4 position = {0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f};
    const glm::vec4 direction = {0.0f, 0.0f, -1.0f, 1.0f};
    const glm::vec4 up = {0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f};

    auto view_inv = glm::inverse(view_matrix);

    _pose.position = view_inv * position;
    _pose.direction = glm::normalize(view_inv * direction);
    _pose.up = glm::normalize(view_inv * up);
    _pose.right = glm::normalize(glm::cross(glm::vec3{direction}, glm::vec3{up}));
}

inline Camera::Camera(Pose const& pose, PerspectiveParameters const& intrinsics)
        : _pose(pose)
        , _intrinsics(intrinsics) {
    // compute view matrix from pose
    _view_matrix = glm::lookAt(_pose.position, _pose.position + _pose.direction, _pose.up);

    updateProjectionMatrix();
}

inline Camera::Camera(Pose const& pose, OrthographicParameters const& intrinsics)
        : _pose(pose)
        , _intrinsics(intrinsics) {
    // compute view matrix from pose
    _view_matrix = glm::lookAt(_pose.position, _pose.position + _pose.direction, _pose.up);

    updateProjectionMatrix();
}

template<typename CameraInfoType>
inline CameraInfoType Camera::get() const {
    if constexpr (std::is_same_v<CameraInfoType, ProjectionType>) {
        if (_intrinsics.index() == 0) {
            return Camera::UNKNOWN;
        } else if (_intrinsics.index() == 1) {
            return Camera::PERSPECTIVE;
        } else if (_intrinsics.index() == 2) {
            return Camera::ORTHOGRAPHIC;
        }
    } else if constexpr (std::is_same_v<CameraInfoType, Pose>) {
        return _pose;
    } else if constexpr (std::is_same_v<CameraInfoType, ImagePlaneTile>) {
        if (_intrinsics.index() == 0) {
            throw std::exception(); // How dare you
        } else if (_intrinsics.index() == 1) {
            return std::get<PerspectiveParameters>(_intrinsics).image_plane_tile;
        } else if (_intrinsics.index() == 2) {
            return std::get<OrthographicParameters>(_intrinsics).image_plane_tile;
        }
    } else if constexpr (std::is_same_v<CameraInfoType, AspectRatio>) {
        if (_intrinsics.index() == 0) {
            throw std::exception(); // How dare you
        } else if (_intrinsics.index() == 1) {
            return std::get<PerspectiveParameters>(_intrinsics).aspect;
        } else if (_intrinsics.index() == 2) {
            return std::get<OrthographicParameters>(_intrinsics).aspect;
        }
    } else if constexpr (std::is_same_v<CameraInfoType, NearPlane>) {
        if (_intrinsics.index() == 0) {
            throw std::exception(); // How dare you
        } else if (_intrinsics.index() == 1) {
            return std::get<PerspectiveParameters>(_intrinsics).near_plane;
        } else if (_intrinsics.index() == 2) {
            return std::get<OrthographicParameters>(_intrinsics).near_plane;
        }
    } else if constexpr (std::is_same_v<CameraInfoType, FarPlane>) {
        if (_intrinsics.index() == 0) {
            throw std::exception(); // How dare you
        } else if (_intrinsics.index() == 1) {
            return std::get<PerspectiveParameters>(_intrinsics).far_plane;
        } else if (_intrinsics.index() == 2) {
            return std::get<OrthographicParameters>(_intrinsics).far_plane;
        }
    } else if constexpr (std::is_same_v<CameraInfoType, FieldOfViewY>) {
        if (_intrinsics.index() == 0) {
            throw std::exception(); // How dare you
        } else if (_intrinsics.index() == 1) {
            return std::get<PerspectiveParameters>(_intrinsics).fovy;
        } else if (_intrinsics.index() == 2) {
            throw std::exception(); // How dare you
        }
    } else if constexpr (std::is_same_v<CameraInfoType, FrustrumHeight>) {
        if (_intrinsics.index() == 0) {
            throw std::exception(); // How dare you
        } else if (_intrinsics.index() == 1) {
            throw std::exception(); // How dare you
        } else if (_intrinsics.index() == 2) {
            return std::get<OrthographicParameters>(_intrinsics).frustrum_height;
        }
    } else {
        return std::get<CameraInfoType>(_intrinsics);
    }
}

//template<typename CameraInfoType>
//inline void Camera::set(CameraInfoType value) {
//}

inline glm::mat4 Camera::getViewMatrix() const {
    return _view_matrix;
}

inline glm::mat4 Camera::getProjectionMatrix() const {
    return _projection_matrix;
}

inline Camera::ProjectionType Camera::getProjectionType() const {
    return get<ProjectionType>();
}

inline void Camera::setPerspectiveProjection(PerspectiveParameters const& intrinsics) {
    _intrinsics = intrinsics;
    updateProjectionMatrix();
}

inline void Camera::setOrthographicProjection(OrthographicParameters const& intrinsics) {
    _intrinsics = intrinsics;
    updateProjectionMatrix();
}

inline Camera::Pose Camera::getPose() const {
    return get<Pose>();
}

inline void Camera::setPose(Pose pose) {
    _pose = pose;
    _view_matrix = glm::lookAt(_pose.position, _pose.position + _pose.direction, _pose.up);
}

inline void Camera::updateProjectionMatrix() {
    if (_intrinsics.index() == 0) {
        // Oi!
    } else if (_intrinsics.index() == 1) {

        // compute projection matrix from intrinsics
//_projection_matrix =
//    glm::perspective(intrinsics.fovy, intrinsics.aspect, intrinsics.near_plane, intrinsics.far_plane);
// return;

// check image_tile and compute projection matrix with adjusted fovy and/or off-center
// all values normalized at distance 1 from camera
#undef near // some header already defines near?
        PerspectiveParameters const& intrinsics = get<PerspectiveParameters>();

        const float near = intrinsics.near_plane;
        const float global_height =
            glm::tan(intrinsics.fovy * 0.5f) * 2.0f; // fovy is whole frustum but tan takes only half
        const float global_width = global_height * intrinsics.aspect;

        // https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/opengl/glfrustum
        // https://www.khronos.org/registry/OpenGL-Refpages/gl2.1/xhtml/glFrustum.xml
        // note that these values need to be multiplied by near_distance to be fed into glFrustum
        const glm::vec2 global_left_bottom = {0, 0};
        const glm::vec2 global_right_top = {global_width, global_height};

        const auto normalized_tile_to_frustum = [&](glm::vec2 const& tile_point) {
            return tile_point * global_right_top;
        };

        const auto left_bottom_tile = normalized_tile_to_frustum(intrinsics.image_plane_tile.tile_start);
        const auto right_top_tile = normalized_tile_to_frustum(intrinsics.image_plane_tile.tile_end);

        // center at (0,0) and map onto near plane
        const auto center_and_map = [&](glm::vec2 const& point) {
            const glm::vec2 global_half_frustum = {global_width * 0.5f, global_height * 0.5f};
            return (point - global_half_frustum) * near;
        };

        const auto local_frustum_left_bottom = center_and_map(left_bottom_tile);
        const auto local_frustum_right_top = center_and_map(right_top_tile);

        _projection_matrix = glm::frustum<float>(local_frustum_left_bottom.x, // left
            local_frustum_right_top.x,                                        // right
            local_frustum_left_bottom.y,                                      // botom
            local_frustum_right_top.y,                                        // top
            intrinsics.near_plane, intrinsics.far_plane);

    } else if (_intrinsics.index() == 2) {

        OrthographicParameters const& intrinsics = get<OrthographicParameters>();

        // compute projection matrix from intrinsics
        auto l = -1.0f * (intrinsics.frustrum_height / 2.0f) * intrinsics.aspect;
        auto r = (intrinsics.frustrum_height / 2.0f) * intrinsics.aspect;
        auto t = (intrinsics.frustrum_height / 2.0f);
        auto b = -1.0f * (intrinsics.frustrum_height / 2.0f);
        //_projection_matrix = glm::ortho(l, r, b, t, intrinsics.near_plane, intrinsics.far_plane);
        // return;

        // check image_tile and compute projection matrix with adjusted fovy and/or off-center
        const auto global_height = intrinsics.frustrum_height;
        const auto global_width = intrinsics.frustrum_height * intrinsics.aspect;

        const glm::vec2 global_frustum_size = {global_width, global_height};
        const glm::vec2 global_left_bottom = -global_frustum_size * 0.5f;
        const glm::vec2 global_right_top = global_frustum_size * 0.5f;

        // tile specified in (0,1) - can use for linear interpolation
        const glm::vec2 tile_start = intrinsics.image_plane_tile.tile_start;
        const glm::vec2 tile_end = intrinsics.image_plane_tile.tile_end;

        const auto normalized_tile_to_frustum = [&](glm::vec2 const& point) {
            return point * global_frustum_size + global_left_bottom;
        };

        const glm::vec2 local_frustum_left_bottom = normalized_tile_to_frustum(tile_start);
        const glm::vec2 local_frustum_right_top = normalized_tile_to_frustum(tile_end);
        _projection_matrix = glm::ortho<float>(local_frustum_left_bottom.x, // left
            local_frustum_right_top.x,                                      // right
            local_frustum_left_bottom.y,                                    // bottom
            local_frustum_right_top.y,                                      // top
            intrinsics.near_plane, intrinsics.far_plane);
    }
}

} // namespace megamol::core::view

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Seattle Geekly is giving away a few signed copies of Old Broken Road along with the launch of today's episode. To win all you need to do is tweet with the hashtag #KMAbook before 3PM tomorrow (02/20/15). There's still plenty of chances to win. Good luck!


text:
Tupapa – Our Stand. Our Story. named awards finalist
HomeYour CouncilOur NewsTupapa – Our Stand. Our Story. named awards finalist
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'Tupapa – Our stand. Our story.' is a finalist in the 2019 Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) EXCELLENCE Awards.
The awards, now in their sixth year, recognise and celebrate the leadership role local government plays within communities around the country.
Tupapa is one of three finalists in the EXCELLENCE Award category for Cultural Well-being.
The council and four Turanga iwi partnered with storytelling design specialists Locales Ltd to deliver a bilingual, multimedia experience to tell the region's stories of tangata whenua, great navigators and first arrivals in New Zealand.
Council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann says partners Rongowhakaata, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngai Tamanuhiri and Ngata Oneone worked collaboratively to develop Tupapa while Council's role was to manage the project and create the environment for its success.
"Our region's heritage has now become more accessible for all our people and brought balance to local history that has been missing for 250 years."
"We are so proud that Tupapa is being recognised for its positive impact to the wellbeing of our community, at a national level and being compared against initiatives from council's across the country."
LGNZ president Dave Cull said being named as a finalist is a significant achievement and reflects strong leadership and the innovative work being delivered by councils across the country.
"These EXCELLENCE Awards demonstrate the value local government provides to community, economic development, infrastructure and the environment," said Mr Cull.
"The sector should be incredibly proud of its achievements as we celebrate these outstanding projects. The finalist projects are real examples of how local government delivers exemplary value and services to New Zealanders in a collaborative and inclusive way."
Judges for the awards are former Wellington mayor Dame Kerry Prendergast, distinguished diplomat and public servant Sir Maarten Wevers, and executive director of the New Zealand Initiative, Dr Oliver Hartwich.
The judges praised the "collaborative approach to telling the story of the region's dual heritage", and for demonstrating "broad community engagement, including working with four iwi".
Category winners will be announced at a gala dinner during the LGNZ Conference, to be held in Wellington on 8 July 2019.
The 14 finalists for the LGNZ EXCELLENCE Awards 2019 are:
EXCELLENCE Award for Social Well-being
Hurunui District Council: Taking the Plunge – The Story of HDC and the Waiau Pool – A post-earthquake project to successfully rebuild the Waiau School and Community Pool.
Kapiti Coast District Council: Dudley Creek – Youth Development Centre Initiative – This project addressed young people's needs for space and activities to connect and support them in their community.
Napier City Council: Andersen Park Playground – A new playground that caters to all abilities and all ages featuring New Zealand's tallest playground tower, a wheelchair accessible mini-tower, climbing and swing structures, water play, functional artwork and interactive elements.
Palmerston North City Council – Festival of Cultures – An annual weeklong event celebrating diversity and encouraging celebration and connection through music, film, performance, cultural dress, craft and food.
MartinJenkins EXCELLENCE Award for Economic Well-being
Hastings District Council – Te Ara Kahikatea – Whakatu Arterial Link: A journey of cultural inclusiveness and community empowerment – The construction of an arterial route improving the district's economic and social well-being, following extensive community consultation.
Thames-Coromandel District Council – Whitianga Town Centre Upgrade: Stage One – This project is the first stage of upgrading the town centre to a mixed-use space, involving the renewal of underground infrastructure, widening footpaths, landscaping, town square and plaza installation, and a playground upgrade.
Wellington City Council – Wellington Waterfront – The 18-year transformation of Wellington's waterfront to become the gateway to Wellington. The waterfront is now a multi-use space, harnessing award-winning design and architecture with heritage and culture.
Waitaki District Council – H2OurHealth – Waitaki Water for Connected Communities – The construction of a 34-kilometre pipeline from Oamaru to Hampden to supply safe and reliable drinking water.
Air New Zealand EXCELLENCE Award for Environmental Well-being
Hamilton City Council – Helping New Zealanders See the Light – The installation of 13,000 customised LED streetlights which has reduced costs to the city and significantly improved both road safety and environmental outcomes.
Taranaki Regional Council – Riparian Management Programme – A large-scale restorative freshwater programme supporting native habitats and improved ecological health.
Thames-Coromandel District Council – The Coromandel Electric Vehicle Touring Loop – A network of fast charging stations at key points around the Coromandel, putting the entire district in range of electric vehicle travel.
Creative New Zealand EXCELLENCE Award for Cultural Well-being
Gisborne District Council – Tupapa – Our Stand. Our Story – A bilingual, multimedia resource developed with local iwi to tell the region's stories of great navigators and first arrivals in New Zealand.
Hamilton City Council – Maangai Māori – Creating History in Hamilton – A project designed to give Māori a strong and meaningful voice in running the city of Hamilton.
Wellington City Council – Visa Wellington on a Plate – Visa Wellington on a Plate is New Zealand's largest culinary festival celebrating food, community and culture while supporting Wellington's restaurants using local Wellington produce


Beat 3 egg whites stiff, not dry. Fold in 1 cup confectioner's sugar, a little at a time. Fold in 1/4 cup pecans, chopped. 1 teaspoon vanilla, 8 Graham Crackers or 1/2 cup. Fold in 6 ounces melted semi-sweet chocolate (package Nestles).
Drop by teaspoon on buttered cookie sheet. Bake at 325-degrees, 12 minutes. Cool and remove.


This book is designed to help you create applications and content that make the best use of Unity on mobile platforms, especially those with Mali® GPUs.
This book is for beginner to intermediate developers.
This chapter describes how to optimize applications in Unity.
Information published by ARM and by third parties.
OpenGL ES 1.1 Specification at http://www.khronos.org.
OpenGL ES 2.0 Specification at http://www.khronos.org.
OpenGL ES 3.0 Specification at http://www.khronos.org.
OpenGL ES 3.1 Specification at http://www.khronos.org.
Unity Scripting Reference at Unity.
GPU Gems: Programming Techniques, Tips, and Tricks for Real-time Graphics by Randima Fernando (Series Editor).
GPU Pro: Advanced Rendering Techniques by Wolfgang Engel (Editor).


Registration opens 1 hour before.
10k is a very popular length with many people for many reasons.There are a huge number of obstacles jam packed into this distance, which gives great value for money. The course includes fun small obstructions through to some larger more challenging obstacles from hops, heights, climbs and slides to some very muddy on the ground lows! You'll never be a huge distance between something new to tackle. You can walk, jog, run or skip your way round there is no set pace. It is just as fun for one individual to conquer the race as it is for a group of friends to be part of something great. You get to cover a course which includes some seriously tough stuff though don't be fooled into thinking it will be too easy!
In the 10k you gain access via a descending rope to the 'broken skull' style obstacle pit! A quasi-military style OCR practice and competition area!! All obstacles are optional though so if you'd rather not do something, just go round!
A particular favourite feature of the 10k is that there is a short fabulous natural spring lake swim. Again this is optional but either for a cool down or wash down there are many benefits of making a splash on this run!
On successfully crossing the finish line which opens up in the activity village, you will be presented with a bottle of water, a small snack, a medal and a t-shirt and have your photo taken! You will hear cheers from other runners, and perhaps your non-running friends and family who have come to support you…..that is if you can find them and they haven't got distracted by all the other fun things on site!


Shaping Our Schools Shaping Our Future, Report of the Working Group on Environmental Education, June 2007.
"Roberta Bondar set very high standards in terms of literacy, science and the arts. We are very excited to carry on her legacy."
" Growing up with our mother who loved teaching and learning, my sister and I were heavily influenced by the values of curiosity, education and sharing. Today, my sister Barbara continues to develop new and exciting connections for teachers to the everyday world of students."
Building on students' everyday literacies from Real World content to improve subject skills, subject literacy, and teacher impact across the curriculum.