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Game news November 7, 2016
Dibalo III will suprise us soon
This year, the Diablo series is celebrating its twentieth anniversary and in honor of this momentous event Blizzard Entertainment has decided to add to the Diablo III remake of the original Diablo. Fall of Tristram…
Game news October 27, 2016
More that 1 million of copies Rise of the Tomb Raider and XCOM2 were sold
Unofficial statistic Action Rise of the Tomb Raider and turn based strategy XCOM 2 have broke the mark of one million copies sold in the Steam system. It should be noted that these results were not…
Square Enix: Final Fantasy XV can be transfered to PC
Possibility of PC version? About the possibility of producing a PC version of Final Fantasy XV Square Enix developers talk for long, but they do not announce it yet. In April, the director of project development Hajime…
Game news September 13, 2016
Bonfire Studios
Born of Legend Since then, as the creative director of Blizzard Entertainment, and lead designer of World of Warcraft, Diablo and StarCraft Rob Pardo has left the company, past more than two years. During this time no…
Game news September 5, 2016
Quantum Break – steam version
Quantum Break delayed In February, Microsoft announced that the sci-fi action game Quantum Break will never appear in a digital store Steam, but after six months had changed his mind. It was expected that the…


There are many things that come in the way of an organization's effectiveness and its ability to realise its true potential. Organisation Development (OD) as a practice helps organisations diagnose and then come up with solutions to enhance effectiveness.
Organizations large and small with specific needs, issues and concerns around organizational effectiveness have been seeking the support of totus consulting to address these needs and have found invaluable solutions. Totus consulting has been involved in over a hundred OD projects in the last 17 years.
We use our skills of diagnosis andour expertise in the use of tested OD methodologies to design and implement solutions to address a wide range of issues impacting Organisation effectiveness including culture, climate, structure, leadership, collaboration and so on.
These OD projects can take the form of strategic off-sites, leadership workshops, sensing and diagnostic interventions, design and implementation of certain key processes and so on. Whatever the need and the approach, the focus is on delivering tangible results against a clearly defined scope and sharp timelines.
Help CEOs co-create the vision or establish shared purpose.
Helping leaders solve problems of trust and collaboration within their leadership team to facilitate greater commitment.
Help improve alignment and performance by solving problems around job design, organisation design, accountability for results, rewards and governance processes.
Help address aspects of culture and values that are impacting effectiveness.
Address issues around climate and engagement.
A trust hospital of repute realized that its revenues and service quality levels were falling. It wanted to understand the reasons behind this and on that basis come up with solutions to address the same. It invited Ganesh Chella to address this Organisation Development need. Using a combination of OD and service quality know-how, Ganesh engaged in a comprehensive diagnostic exercise meeting Doctors, Nurses and non-medical team members.At the end of the diagnostic phase, he engaged in multiple rounds of dialogues with the Board to present his findings and then deliberate about a range of recommendations and through that arrive at a clear set of actions to take.
The Managing Director of a multinational engineering company was concerned that he had no strategy or plan to identify, develop and retain his talented employees. In the face of certain changes taking place in his Organisation, this need was becoming extremely critical. He was also keen that his leadership team appreciated this need and co-owned its implementation. In this context he invited Ganesh Chella to partner with him. Through a series of interactions which finally culminated in an intensive workshop, the MD was able to arrive at a clear talent management strategy which was fully endorsed by his team.
As he assumed responsibility as the Managing Director of this telecom major, he realized that his leadership team had a large proportion of new members many of who were also new to their roles and the business. For this new team to achieve results under competitive circumstances, he saw the need to invest in an intervention to bring team members closer, get them to appreciate each other's strengths, respect each other's styles and discuss and agree on the key strategic imperatives to achieve the business goals. In this context, he invited Ganesh Chella to partner with him and his team. Ganesh engaged in one-on-one discussions with all the members of the leadership team to establish common ground. This was followed by a fair amount of preparatory work before the entire team got together for a strategic off-site. The off-site which was facilitated by Ganesh Chella served as a platform to accomplish many of the team development agendas set out by the MD. A few months after the off-site, the team has made rapid progress.
The founders of a technology company were at cross-roads. Having reached a certain scale, they were not sure if they should scale to the next level or sell out. They were also not sure about the personaly goals of one another as well as those in their leadership team.They were also not sure about what decision to take and what it would take to implement the decision they took. It is in this context that reached out to Ganesh.Ganesh used his facilitation skills to help all the key stakeholders to engage in deep and candid conversations over a period of time. At the end of these conversations, there was clarity and conviction and commitment to whatever they had decided.
A very large family business conglomerate had been running a flagship leadership development program for several years. Over time, questions were being raised about the effectiveness of the program in addressing their larger leadership needs. The Organisation and the institution running the program wanted an independent insight into the situation. It is in this context that they invited Ganesh Chella. Ganesh used his diagnostic skills to delve deep into the issue and come up with an innovative set of insights and recommendations.
If you need very high quality OD expertise to diagnose problems of Organisation effectiveness and co-create solutions talk to us.


This fall, the ballot is full of initiatives and questions for spending. If you live in Gypsum Fire Protection District, like I do, please start at the bottom of the ballot this year.
Two years ago, Gypsum Fire was able to raise its mill levy to help increase the level of service and maintain fire engines to protect our homes and property. This increase has been eroded by the 1982 Gallagher Amendment and has effectively zeroed out the increase we, the local taxpayers, voted for in 2016.
This is not the fault of Gypsum Fire or the county; rather, it is the fault of the rising housing prices in Denver and all of the Front Range. Initiative 7E is not a tax increase, but it is an effort to maintain level funding. Join me in voting yes on 7E!


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Q: Counting most frequent character in a string I have a complex C program, and i wanna write only a function which gets a string as a parameter.
int most_frequent(char *string)

The function has to return the number of the most frequent character in the string. I tried something like this, but this is incorrect i think:
 int most_frequent(char *string){
     int i, lenght;
     lenght=strlen(string);
     int max=0, x=0;
     for(i=0;i<lenght;i++)
     {
         if(string[i]==string[i++])
         {
             x++;
         }
         if(max<x)
             max=x;
     }
     return max;
 }

for example: "overflow" - 2
             "eleven" - 3

A: I assume that you have a string that follows ASCII. In this way, there are 256 possible values for each char. Thus we count the frequency of each and return the largest one.
int most_frequent(char *string){
     int count[256] = {0}; // Assum char is ASCII
     int max = 0;
     int i;

     for(i=0; i < strlen(string) ;i++) {
         count[(unsigned char)(string[i])] ++;
     }

     for(i=0; i < 256 ;i++) {
         if (count[i] > max)
             max = count[i];
     }
     return max;
 }

A: Do following:
// version that ignores the upper and lower case
int most_frequent(char *string) {
    int letterCout[26];

    // counts occurrence of each letter
    for (int i = 0; i < strlen(string); ++i){
       // this counts characters if you are ignoring the case (upper or lower)
       if (string[i] >= 'a' && string[i] =< 'z')
           alphabet [string[i] - 'a']++;
       else if (string[i] >= 'A' && string[i] =< 'Z')
           alphabet [string[i] - 'A']++;
    }

    // finds which letter occurred the most
    int max = 0;
    for (int i = 0; i < strlen(string); ++i)
        if (letterCoutn[i] > max)
            max = letterCount[i];

    return max;
}

or you can do this:
// version which does not ignore case but count the separately
int most_frequent(char *string) {
    int letterCout[52];  // 52 so you can count upper and lower case

    // counts occurrence of each letter
    for (int i = 0; i < strlen(string); ++i){
       if (string[i] >= 'a' && string[i] <= 'z')
           alphabet [string[i] - 'a' + 26]++; // plus 26 so to offset in array so upper case could be counted in lower half of an array.
       else if (string[i] >= 'A' && string[i] <= 'Z')
           alphabet [string[i] - 'A']++;
    }

    // finds which letter occurred the most
    int max = 0;
    for (int i = 0; i < strlen(string) * 2; ++i)
        if (letterCoutn[i] > max)
            max = letterCount[i];

    return max;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Rugby: Six Nations, Wales v. Scotland
Scotland was missing their captain and kicker scrum half Greig Laidlaw.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Alan Colmes cause of death at 66 strikes close to home
Lymphoma. Two months after diagnosis - must have been a terribly rampant variety. Another reminder that I dodged a bullet.
Liberal commentator Alan Colmes died on February 23 after a "brief illness" at the age of 66. What was his cause of death? According to The Washington Post, Colmes died in a Manhattan hospital of lymphoma. From accounts of friends and even Colmes himself before he died, it does not appear that he was struggling with the illness for long. In January, Colmes had announced he was taking some time off from his Fox News radio show for a medical reason, but he did not say what he was suffering from at that time.
Colmes was remembered by news colleagues – including those who didn't agree with him politically – as a rare beacon of civility in a political climate that's grown increasingly ugly. Colmes retained long friendships with colleagues he often strongly debated on television. For example, he had developed a close bond with conservative Sean Hannity, his fellow Fox News pundit and the man with whom he formed the warring debaters, Hannity & Colmes.
Hannity said in a statement:
The Fox family, Dr. Jocelyn Colmes, Monica Crowley and me personally have lost one of life's most decent, kind and wonderful people you'd ever want to meet. When Alan and I started Hannity and Colmes, there wasn't a day that went by where we didn't' say we were two most fortunate men in all television. Despite major political differences, we forged a deep friendship. Alan, in the midst of great sickness and illness, showed the single greatest amount of courage I've ever seen. And through it all, he showed his incredible wit and humor that was Alan's signature throughout his entire life. I'm truly heartbroken at the loss of a dear friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jocelyn, Monica and his entire family. He will be dearly missed.
Hannity told People Magazine that Colmes tried to shield his wife from his illness. "[When] we first talked about it, you know, typical Alan style, his first statement to me was, 'I don't want my wife to worry or be upset,' " Hannity said to People. "He was thinking about her. He loved his wife, he adored her."
Academy Awards? And these are the people who say the White House is in chaos.
Funny - blame the Russians. And Warren Beatty doesn't look great. Too much plastic surgery?
Monday, February 27, 2017 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Rugby: Six Nations, Ireland v. France - 5 minute video
Played in Dublin with some rain.
Trump with some CEO's; a little humor (One minute)
Golf story.
Two years ago this month, 20 Coptic Christian Egyptians + 1 were beheaded by ISIS
Most everyone remembers this horror. Hard to believe it was two years ago.
2015 kidnapping and beheading of Copts in Libya
Who was the 21st person beheaded?
According to reports, Mathew Ayairga was not a Christian. However, when moments before his death the IS extremists demanded that he follow Islam, Mathew turned them down. After reportedly witnessing the "immense faith" of the Egyptian believers, he decided to become a follower of Christ. On camera, one of the terrorists asked Matthew, "Do you reject Christ?" "Their God is my God," he responded, and he became one of the 21 men laying down their lives for their faith in Christ.
Warren Buffett - stocks are "virtually certain" to go up
I've been saying this for months - but Buffett gets the headlines. It's in his annual shareholder letter.
Buffett: Stocks are 'virtually certain' to rise in years ahead
As is usual in the typically wide-ranging letter, the billionaire investor offered no specific market call. But the 86-year-old billionaire used the occasion of the annual missive to talk up the U.S. economy to back his view that over the long term, equities should continue to rise.
"American business—and consequently a basket of stocks—is virtually certain to be worth far more in the years ahead. Innovation, productivity gains, entrepreneurial spirit and an abundance of capital will see to that," Buffett said.
Sunday, February 26, 2017 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Brigid has left Australia; on her way to England (HA! Just in time - check below!)
Australia has loads of nasty, deadly creatures and here's one of them -
Boy survives bite from super deadly spider thanks to quick-thinking dad
A 10-year-old Australian boy has survived a bite from one of the world's deadliest spiders after taking a record 12 vials of anti-venom, local media reported.
Matthew Mitchell was helping his dad clear out the back shed at their home north of Sydney when he was bitten on the finger by a funnel-web spider that had been lurking in his shoe.
"It sort of clawed onto me and all the legs and everything crawled around my finger and I couldn't get it off," he told the Australian Daily Telegraph.
His family used his shirt as a compression bandage to try to slow the venom's spread and rushed him to a hospital.
He experienced convulsions but survived after being given 12 vials of anti-venom, which local media said was an Australian record.
The funnel-web spider is among the world's deadliest spiders. Its venom attacks the nervous system, causing foaming at the mouth, muscle spasms and potentially death.
The spider was caught and taken to the Australian Reptile Park, where it will be milked as part of their program to develop anti-venom.
The 10-year-old was "as lucky as they get," Australian Reptile Park general manager Tim Faulkner told The Telegraph.
Australia is home to a startling number of the world's deadliest creatures, including snakes, spiders, jellyfish and octopuses.
The funnel-web is particularly feared, but no deaths have been recorded since the anti-venom was developed in the 1980s.
Ohio Governor Kasich (my guy!) on his meeting with the President
UPDATE: Here is a one minute CNN video of Kasich discussing his meeting - his email to me is below it.
I am on the Kasich email list and i got this yesterday. Posted in full.
Thomas, I wanted to send you a short update about my visit with President Trump and members of his staff to discuss the lessons we've learned in Ohio about healthcare and how this can be very helpful as Congress looks to reform Obamacare.
The President was generous with his time as we also discussed education & job training, the need for the administration to speak with one voice on national security issues, trade, how we can do more to prevent human trafficking, the opioid drug abuse that is straining our communities and the high costs of prescription medicine and various remedies to this growing problem.
Here was my statement after the meeting:
I'm looking forward to continuing the conversation about healthcare reform, at the President's invitation, with HHS Secretary Price and White House Chief of Staff Priebus on Saturday. I will also meet with fellow governors to discuss these reforms.
If you'd like to watch a short clip from my remarks to the media after my meeting at the White House, you can watch it on C-SPAN (here).
You can also read my latest op-ed in Forbes: A Roadmap To Responsible Health Care Reform, If Washington Leaders Partner With States
Finally, I will be a guest on CBS "Face the Nation" Sunday morning. Find your local listing (here).
Thank you for your ongoing support and please continue to follow along on social media for more updates: Twitter (here) and Facebook (here).
-John
John Kasich
Governor of Ohio
Saturday, February 25, 2017 | Permalink | Comments (1)
CNN: Young woman confronts a Senator about Obamacare
Interesting 2 minute vid - the answer from Cotton should have been "yes". Watch til the end - It's revealing that the woman is not happy with Obamacare.
Tim - indoor Conference track championship today
I haven't posted much about Tim's college (St. Thomas Aquinas College) track career, since he was red-shirted as a freshman and in this indoor season it's been difficult to get good video or pictures. The picture above and video below are from The St. Joe's Invitational on February 11th and Tim came 12th out of 52 in the shot put. Tim's best event is the javelin, but that's kinda not an indoor track event.
So the East Coast Conference Championship is today on Staten Island and I'll be driving out for it. Tim will also be doing the weight throw - for the first time. It's the indoor version of the hammer throw.
Tim is 5'9" and weighs about 205 lbs. At the collegiate level in the shot put, he's often giving away 50 to 120 lbs. against other throwers. Yup - we've seen some throwers over 300 lbs.
Here's a 25 second video and below another picture which he'll love - his arm close-up - he's got the guns!
Friday, February 24, 2017 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Cable News ratings race - Rachel Maddow on a roll, but FOX still dominates
In fact FOX is #1 among ALL basic cable networks with TNT #2.
And despite Rachel Maddow on MSNBC having 2 million viewers, she still lost in her time slot to Tucker Carlson on FOX.
MSNBC is now the fastest growing cable network over 2016 among all cable network after its big week. However, Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight" beat Maddow in the 9 p.m. ET hour despite MSNBC's big week.
Thursday, February 23, 2017 | Permalink | Comments (0)
NY Post: "Women manages final dig at Trump from beyond the grave"
Amusing whether you like Trump or not. Hit the link for a few good shots.
Smith is not the first person to include the controversial 45th president in her obituary
In the midst of the presidential campaign last year, an American woman's family wrote another entertaining death notice.
"Faced with the prospect of voting either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, Mary Anne Noland of Richmond chose, instead, to pass into the eternal love of God on Sunday."
Noland's sons said they wrote the opening line to carry on their mother's excellent sense of humor.
More if you hit the link.
Great column on our obligations to refugees
It's posted on the Witherspoon Institute Public Discourse website. Here's the essay author - he's a professor at an Evangelical College.
Robert Carle is a professor of theology at The King's College in Manhattan. Dr. Carle is a contributor to The American Interest, Public Discourse, Society, Human Rights Review, The Federalist, World, Academic Questions, Touchstone, and reason.com. Some of the material in this essay was posted on The Federalist on February 14.
I have excerpted the first six of the 25 paragraphs in the essay, all of which is worth reading. If you're wondering who John Witherspoon was (besides being a signor of the Declaration of Independence) go here.
President Trump's executive order on immigration is deeply troubling ...
907 Jewish refugees were on board the MS St. Louis when Franklin Delano Roosevelt refused to let them dock in Miami in 1939. The captain of the ship, Gustav Schröder, wanted to run his ship aground, which would have allowed the refugees to disembark on American soil, but US Coast Guard vessels kept the ship away from the shore. Captain Shröder was forced to take his passengers back to Europe.
254 of the refugees subsequently died in the Holocaust.
Every January 27 is Holocaust Memorial Day, a day when Americans remember with shame our refusal to come to the aid of Jews who were fleeing the horrors of Nazism. January 27, 2017, was the day on which President Trump signed an immigration executive order (EO) that upended the lives of thousands of vulnerable people. The EO separated parents from their children, prevented patients from getting medical treatment, and jeopardized friends and allies in Iraq who have fought alongside us in the war against ISIS.
Among many others, the order barred entry to Iraqi Vian Dakhil, a Yazidi lawmaker whose speech in Parliament in 2014 prompted President Obama to take action against ISIS. Dakhil was en route to Washington to receive the Lantos Human Rights Prize at the US Capitol. The order also banned the Chaldean archbishop of Erbil in Iraq, Bashar Warda. Warda is an advocate for the 200,000 Christians displaced by ISIS. His church has sheltered thousands of displaced Iraqis.
Less visible to the public was the anguish suffered by the 60,000 refugees who are languishing in refugee camps. They have already been granted security clearances to come to the United States but will now be denied entry.
The courts have stayed parts of Trump's executive order, and the administration has promised to issue a new executive order that rests on firmer legal ground. Left untouched by the court rulings, however, was the refugee limit set out in the original order, which cut the refugee cap from 110,000 to 50,000. Because 35,000 refugees have already been admitted to the United States in fiscal year 2017, only 15,000 slots are open for the remainder of the year. The US State Department has directed embassies to slow admission of refugees for the month of February and suspend it completely after March 3.
The United States currently admits a fraction of a percent of the world's 65 million refugees. The United States has far fewer refugees per capita than Canada, Britain, France, or Germany. Last year, the United States accepted 37,521 Christian refugees and 38,901 Muslim refugees. The largest number of those refugees were from The Congo (16,370), followed by Syria (12,587), Burma (12,347), Iraq (9,880) and Somalia (9,020).
Hit the link above for the last 19 paragraphs
Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Permalink | Comments (1)
From Stepinac; Fr. Gelsomino Obituary and more
I took this entirely from the Stepinac HS email that was sent around Tuesday morning. I thought it was nicely done.
A number of wonderful conversations, calls, emails and Facebook comments have been coming to us since the passing of our beloved "Fr. Pete".
As you have probably heard, Monsignor Peter Gelsomino passed away February 18, 2017.
Thank you to all who shared their stories and sympathies, we hope to see many of you at the services. (See information below).
Over the last few days, we have been doing our best to keep up with the calls and emails. Several Alumni have even pledged to begin a Fr. Pete Scholarship Fund to provide assistance to one of the Stepinac students who need financial help in order to attend Stepinac. We have already thanked them, but they said the best thanks would be if anyone who had been impacted in any way by Fr. Pete could make a contribution, his legacy can continue to live on both at Stepinac and in the lives of the young men at Stepinac.
To make a contribution to the fund, please click here and in the "designation area" select the Fr. Pete Scholarship Fund
Thank you again for your kindness in reaching out to Stepinac at this time. Fr Pete was certainly an amazing man who we will be honoring at Stepinac this Wednesday and Thursday, the same building he served so many students for 35 years.
2-8PM on Wednesday February 22, 2017, Chapel of the Holy Spirit at Archbishop Stepinac High School 950 Mamaroneck Ave. White Plains, NY.
10AM on Thursday February 23, 2017, Major Bowes Auditorium at Stepinac High School950 Mamaroneck Ave. White Plains, NY.
Obituary- (With permission from Craft Memorial Home Website)
Reverend Monsignor Peter A. Gelsomino entered into eternal life on February 18, 2017 surrounded by his family. He was born March 14, 1929 in New York City to the late John and Frances Campana Gelsomino. He was raised in New York City graduating from Benjamin Franklin High School in 1946; he then attended St. Jerome College and then graduated from Cathedral College. He entered St. Joseph's Seminary in Dunwoodie and was ordained a priest at St. Patrick's Cathedral on May 28, 1955 by Cardinal Spellman. In 1958 Father Peter became a member of the faculty at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains where he remained until 1993. While there he taught English, Religion and most notably Russian Language. Father Peter was well known for his many trips to Russia with his students as well many other roles at Stepinac. While at Stepinac, Father Peter assisted at many local parishes in Yonkers, Armonk, Rye and Port Chester. In 1994 Father Peter became the pastor at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Port Chester where he became a beloved member of the community. On March 4, 2006 Father Peter was elevated to Monsignor at Saint Patrick's Cathedral. He retired as pastor in 2014. He is survived by his brothers Vito Reciniello of Huntington, NY and Anthony Receniello and wife Annmarie of Dix Hills, NY, sisters Josephine Simeone of West Babylon, NY and Rosemarie Milano of Coram, NY. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews. Visitation will be 2-8PM on Wednesday February 22, 2017 at the Archbishop Stepinac High School 950 Mamaroneck Ave. White Plains, NY. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10AM on Thursday February 23, 2017 at the school. Interment to follow at St. Raymond's Cemetery Bronx, NY. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to Missionaries of the Poor PO Box 2983 Atlanta, GA 30359 or to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital Memphis, TN."The Greatest Achievement in life is to Love- to give oneself for others without counting the cost.God is Love. If we Love one another, God lives in us. 1 John 4.""The Greatest Achievement in Life is not to gain honor, fame, prestige, power or wealth, but to give oneself for others without counting the cost!"
It can be truly said that Fr. Peter Gelsomino lived what he preached- because he truly loved God and Humanity and gave himself for others without counting the cost.
Charitable donations may be made to:St. Jude Children's Research Hospital501 St. Jude Place, Memphis TN 38105Tel: 1-800-805-5856Web: http://www.stjude.org/Missionaries of the PoorPO Box 29893, Atlanta GA 30359Tel: 1-404-248-1197Web: http://www.missionariesofthepoor.org/
Headline: "Ivanka Trump Perfume Soars to No.1 Bestseller on AMAZON Despite Boycotts..."
These boycotts have uniformly backfired.
Ivanka Trump Eau de Parfum Spray For Women ($34 for a 3.4-ounce bottle) was No. 1 on Amazon's list of bestselling fragrances and perfume for at least the sixth consecutive day. One reviewer wrote: "I normally buy this at Nordstrom. But now that I heard they will not carry it anymore, I was happy to find it on Amazon." (Radha Beauty Aromatherapy was at No. 2 on Amazon's list.) The recent success of Ivanka Trump's perfume on Amazon, particularly after her products were dropped from other stores, suggests the "resistance economy" to boycott products associated with the family of President Trump can help a brand as well as hurt it.
I may have to buy some myself - although $34 a bottle? Guess I'll stick with Right Guard.
Georgetown University, slavery, and rape
This is hard to believe but the Catholic League is a reliable source. And another example of $$$ talks.
Here's the press release - and if there's a follow-up or the professor was misquoted I will post it.
Bill Donohue comments on media reaction to a speech given by Georgetown professor Jonathan Brown on February 7
WHAT'S WRONG WITH SLAVERY AND RAPE?
Two weeks ago today, a professor from Georgetown University publicly rose to the defense of slavery and rape, and not a single major media outlet—with the exception of a blogger on the Washington Post website and a brief posting on foxnews.com—has said a word about it. The absence of outrage is not hard to figure out: Jonathan Brown's defense was limited to Islam.
Brown, a convert to Islam, holds an endowed chair in Islamic studies at Georgetown. The Jesuit-run institution has a wealthy benefactor in Saudi Arabia, a nation which bans Christianity. How sweet.
What did Georgetown get from this arrangement? Money, and a lot of it. Twelve years ago, Saudi Arabia wrote a check to the Jesuit-run institution for $20 million; it went to support the school's Center for Muslim Christian Understanding, run by Brown. And what did Saudi Arabia get from this peculiar "understanding"? Legitimacy.
The fruit from this decayed tree is now apparent. Georgetown now employs a tenured professor who defends slavery and rape, provided the slavemasters and rapists are Muslims. This is apparently Georgetown's idea of diversity. It also shows how phony the school is. Why all the handwringing about Georgetown's ownership of American slaves in the 19th century when it employs defenders of slavery today?
Brown's position was not made in the heat of debate. If anything his comments were well prepared: they were delivered at the Islamic Institute for Islamic Thought. After being criticized by some, he tried to walk it back, offering a lame Tweet that meant nothing.
"As a category, as a conceptual category that exists throughout states and trans-historically," Brown said clumsily, "there's no such thing as slavery." It gets better. "I don't think you can talk about slavery in Islam until you realize that there is no such thing as slavery."
It is not certain what Brown would say to slaves in Mauritania and Somalia today—they are owned by their Muslim masters. Would he tell them to stop promoting fake news? Would he tell them that slavery is a mirage? Would he tell them that they are delusional? Better yet, would he switch places with them?
Brown is also incompetent. If slavery doesn't exist in Muslim-run nations, why the need to justify it? "Slavery cannot just be treated as a moral evil in and of itself," he opined. He really means it. "I don't think it's morally evil to own somebody because we own lots of people all around us."
(Who he owns he did not say, but perhaps the Southern Poverty Law Center will look into it. Maybe I'll convert to Islam and see if I can buy him. I'll use my credit card—Mastercard for the Master.)
When someone in the audience challenged Brown, he became indignant, as well as inconsistent. "The fact that there was slavery is wrong [thus did he contradict his remark that there was no such thing in Islam]. Okay. If you're a Muslim, the prophet of God…had slaves. He had slaves. There's no denying that. Are you more morally mature than the prophet of God? No, you are not."
One would hope that all of us are more morally mature than Muhammad. After all, he was not only a slavemaster and an advocate of violence, he consummated his marriage with his bride Aisha when she was nine years old. That's what we call rape.
Speaking of which, Brown went on to say that non-consensual sex—it's called rape—is okay with him, at least if the offenders are adherents to Islam. He took aim at the Western notion of "consent," maintaining that "It's very hard to have this discussion because we think of, let's say in the modern United States, the sine qua non of morally correct sex is consent."
Continuing his defense of rape, Brown criticized Americans for making a big deal about individual rights. "We fetishize the idea of autonomy to the extent that we forget, again who's really free? Are we really autonomous people?" In other words, since none of us is really autonomous, the difference between us and a rape victim is more contrived than real.
Brown and Georgetown would be on the front page of every newspaper in the nation if he had justified Christians enslaving and raping Muslims. It would be the lead news story of the night on television, and the Internet would explode. But because Brown was justifying slavery and rape committed by Muslims—whose real life victims are Christians and Jews—there's hardly a peep.
This is moral relativism gone off the cliff. It is a direct consequence of multiculturalism run amuck. On campuses and newsrooms across the country, the Judeo-Christian ethos and heritage has been slashed and burned beyond belief, the rubble of which is Professor Jonathan Brown, Georgetown University, and the media.
General McMaster - new National Security Advisor - a genuine hero and leader
This is guy is the real deal (UPDATE: Yes! he played rugby at West Point) and won't hesitate to "Speak Truth to Power". he wrote a famous (in military circles) book Dereliction of Duty:Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam. The book was written in 1998 as a result of his Ph.D. thesis and is considered a must read classic for military leaders.
Here's a quote from another General -
...retired Lt. Gen. Dave Barno, wrote, "Major General Herbert Raymond McMaster might be the 21st century Army's pre-eminent warrior-thinker. Recently tapped for his third star, H.R. is also the rarest of soldiers—one who has repeatedly bucked the system and survived to join its senior ranks."
Here's an interesting brief summary of his accomplishments from Cosmopolitan -
Who Is H.R. McMaster? 8 Things to Know About Donald Trump's National Security Adviser
Here are points 3 & 4
3. He's considered a war hero.
During the Gulf War in 1991, McMaster was a captain commanding Eagle Troop of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of 73 Easting. During that battle, he and his team were significantly outnumbered when they encountered the enemy by surprise. His lead tank and nine other tanks of Eagle Troop destroyed over eighty Iraqi Republican Guard tanks and other vehicles without loss, largely because the American tanks were higher quality. For his actions, he was awarded the Silver Star, and taught the battle as a military history professor at his alma mater, West Point, from 1994 to 1996. (And, fun fact, his success during the battle was included in the Tom Clancy nonfiction novel, Armored Cav.)
4. He helped to pacify the city of Tal Afar in 2005.
In Iraq, McMaster was commander of the unit that brought order to Tal Afar. He used classic counterinsurgency methods —"clear, hold, and build"— that would later be adopted by General Petraeus.
Seems like an amazing man.
Fr. Peter Gelsomino
A former teacher at Stepinac, a real character. I never had him as a teacher - he taught Russian - but he had positive influence on many students. He only retired in 2014, at the age of 85. He was at Stepinac from 1958 to 1993. This is from Catholic New York when he retired:
Msgr. Peter Gelsomino had been senior priest administrator of Sacred Heart of Jesus, Port Chester, since 2012. He served that parish as pastor, 1994-2006, and administrator, 2006-2012. He served as parochial vicar at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Shrub Oak, 1993-1994. He served at Archbishop Stepinac High School, White Plains, 1958-1993. He served as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Bronx, 1957-1958, and St. Lucy's, Manhattan, 1955-1957. Born in New York City, he was ordained in 1955.
Science - Left or right-handedness determined in our spinal cord!?
Being in the minority (I'm mostly lefty), I've always been interested in this handedness stuff. A one minute video.
Melania Trump leads off with the "Our Father"
Well, looks like she's reading it, but still, a nice touch. Yesterday's rally was purely a political event - paid for by the Trump Campaign (for 2020?).
"If Great Scientists had Logos"
From my friend Nancy, who frequently sends me clever stuff.
Michael Novak
The Catholic intellectual. He was 83 years old. I enjoyed reading his columns and commentary although I never read any of his books.
This is a press release from the Catholic league, and below is a short video from Fr. Robert Sirico.
Michael Novak, R.I.P.
Bill Donohue comments on the death of Michael Novak:
Michael Novak was more than a brilliant and dedicated Catholic, his range of scholarship was astounding. Theologian, sociologist, economist, political scientist—he was all of these and more.
I have many fond memories of my exchanges with Mike. He was courageous and kind, thoughtful and considerate, and always there when you needed him. His commitment to the Catholic League's best interests meant a great deal to me and to the organization; he served on our board of advisors for over 20 years.
God bless Michael Novak. He will surely be missed.
Chimpanzees, acting like humans (killing each other)
The story of Foudouko, the former alpha male. Surprise! Had something to do with sex.
Chimps beat up, murder and then cannibalise their former tyrant
NY Times - A psychiatrist on the President's mental health
This is a pretty good and balanced article - the writer has occasional thoughtful columns in the NYT. Hit the link, there's more to it then just my excerpts.
... the attempt to diagnose a condition in President Trump and declare him mentally unfit to serve is misguided for several reasons.
I don't doubt that these experts believe they are protecting the country from a president whose behavior they — like many of us — see as dangerous. A recent letter to the editor in this newspaper, signed by 35 psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers, put it this way: "We fear that too much is at stake to be silent." It continued, "We believe that the grave emotional instability indicated by Mr. Trump's speech and actions makes him incapable of serving safely as president."
First, all experts have political beliefs that probably distort their psychiatric judgment. Consider what my mostly liberal profession said of Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee for president in 1964, right before the election. Members of the American Psychiatric Association were surveyed about their assessment of Goldwater by the now-defunct Fact magazine. Many savaged him, calling him "paranoid," "grossly psychotic" and a "megalomaniac." Some provided diagnoses, like schizophrenia and narcissistic personality disorder.
They used their professional knowledge as a political weapon against a man they had never examined and who certainly would never have consented to their discussing his mental health in public.
Goldwater sued (successfully) and, as a result, in 1973 the A.P.A. developed the Goldwater Rule. It says that psychiatrists can discuss mental health issues with the news media, but that it is unethical for them to diagnose mental illnesses in people they have not examined and whose consent they have not received.
Contrary to what many believe, this rule does not mean that professionals must remain silent about public figures. In fact, the guidelines specifically state that mental health experts should share their knowledge to educate the public.
So while it would be unethical for a psychiatrist to say that President Trump has narcissistic personality disorder, he or she could discuss common narcissistic character traits, like grandiosity and intolerance of criticism, and how they might explain Mr. Trump's behavior. In other words, psychiatrists can talk about the psychology and symptoms of narcissism in general, and the public is free to decide whether the information could apply to the individual.
It's a good article - hit the link for the whole thing.
Cable News Ratings Race
I still think it's a laugh that the Comedy Daily Show is "News". And the collapse of CNN continues. Trump is right they're fake news!? A screwball like Lawrence O'Donnell out-draws them?
CABLE NEWS RACE FEB 14 2017
FOXNEWS O'REILLY 3,758,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 2,928,000
FOXNEWS THE FIVE 2,918,000
FOXNEWS TUCKER 2,852,000
MSNBC MADDOW 2,541,000
FOXNEWS HANNITY 2,534,000
MSNBC O'DONNELL 2,029,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 1,757,000
MSNBC HAYES 1,731,000
CNN COOPER 1,584,000
CMDY DAILY SHOW 1,027,000
MSNBC MORNING JOE 960,000
HBO VICE 274,000
Good short video - "Who Can't Hike the Appalachian Trail?"
Apropos to our "Hike of the Month" club, whose hikes anyone can do. Our Feb. 4th "hike of the month" on the Croton Aqueduct.
"Hey Y'all".
Just discovered this youtube channel belonging to a woman - Jennifer Mills, trail name "Dixie" - who'd never done an overnight hike - and then did a hike-through of the Appalachian Trail! Her youtube channel is good - she's chatty allrighty - with lots of fun informational videos. She's pretty sharp, a graduate of Auburn with a bioengineering degree. Her next project - hiking the PCT (Pacific Coast Trail) that runs from Mexico to Canada.
Funny: Nancy Pelosi fake news at it's finest
The leader of the Congressional Democrats. Of course she had to apologize for this later since Flynn never sent the tweet. Other outlets like the NY Times also bought into the fakery. Multiple Outlets, Politicians Duped by Fake Michael Flynn Tweet.
And there's this - When an aide told Pelosi the tweets were fake she reportedly turned to him and said "What do you mean it's fake!?"
NatGeo: Three deer get into a convenience store ...
Causing an inconvenience ... A one minute video.
Brigid's "Australia Here I Come" picture
Brigid sent this out Friday to the Australian family folks - it is summer in Australia and they'd been emailing her to warn that it was VERY hot. As I type this Monday AM, she should be somewhere between Frankfurt and Singapore - the second leg of her journey.
"Lessons on Aging , From a 105 Year Old Cyclist."
Great article from the NY Times Health and Fitness section. They had to set a new age level classification as he set a world record for people over 105 year olds. Mr. Marchand is the only one in the that group. Testing shows he's more aerobically fit then most 50 year olds. And his aerobic fitness has increased in the last several years, by raising the intensity of his training. Excerpts below, hit the link for the full article - it's about a dozen paragraphs.
Many people first heard of Mr. Marchand last month, when he set a world record in one-hour cycling, an event in which someone rides as many miles as possible on an indoor track in 60 minutes.
Mr. Marchand pedaled more than 14 miles, setting a global benchmark for cyclists age 105 and older. That classification had to be created specifically to accommodate him. No one his age previously had attempted the record.
Mr. Marchand, who was born in 1911, already owned the one-hour record for riders age 100 and older, which he had set in 2012.
It was as he prepared for that ride that he came to the attention of Veronique Billat, a professor of exercise science at the University of Evry-Val d'Essonne in France. At her lab, Dr. Billat and her colleagues study and train many professional and recreational athletes.
She was particularly interested in Mr. Marchand's workout program and whether altering it might augment his endurance and increase his speed.
Conventional wisdom in exercise science suggests that it is very difficult to significantly add to aerobic fitness after middle age. In general, VO2 max, a measure of how well our bodies can use oxygen and the most widely accepted scientific indicator of fitness, begins to decline after about age 50, even if we frequently exercise.
But Dr. Billat had found that if older athletes exercised intensely, they could increase their VO2 max. She had never tested this method on a centenarian, however.
Brigid heads out today - Australia and then England.
Brigid on a hike last October - Castle Rock
One of my 2017 resolutions - you can check here - was for Brigid to get out for the first time to Australia, to see her brother Neville and his wife Gerry and their two (June and Samantha) daughters and their children. They've all - exception of Sammi but we'll get that fixed - visited us here several times, but we've not gotten down under to see them.
So Brigid flies out tonight and will also see her sister Libby and her family for six days on the return home, before getting back on March 6th. Overall 21 days with the trip out to Australia going through Frankfurt, and Singapore before getting to Brisbane - about 32 hours of traveling. Brigid is VERY excited about going! Meanwhile, Tom, Joe and Tim will be pining away here ... My hat in this picture says "Wallabies"
Our Feb. 4th "hike of the month" on the Croton Aqueduct.
A short hike - just over three and a half miles. And it was a fivesome - Jeanne Marie, Brigid, Karen, David and myself.
Also a day for funny hats - it was a bit brisk out!
Jeanne Marie took this picture, since she didn't have a hat -
A few shots on the wide, easy trail.
A pleasant walk with great company.
Funny - How to sell aspirin in 44 seconds
And ming vases do sell for millions of dollars - or euros in this case.
Abe Lincoln's birthday today - and the origin of the stovepipe hat
An affectation to be sure.I used to wonder where it came from.
One minute vid - Firefighter adopts baby girl he delivered during emergency
Drudge Report cover one year ago today "Revolution!"
Revolution!?!?!? Was there one?
Disillusioned Russian Lawyer - and his pet rabbit - opt for Hobbit style existence
HAHA. You have to read the text below the video. That's one well-trained, well fed rabbit. Harvey?
He is known as the "Russian hobbit". Once a big city lawyer in Moscow, Yury Alekseyev abandoned his career three years ago and headed 60 kilometres (40 miles) northeast. Picking a spot near the road and the woods, he dug an underground home that he shares with his faithful pet rabbit Petrushka.
"It's become clear to me that I live in Moscow, rent a one-room apartment with concrete walls, in order to be able to live between these concrete walls I every day go to the office over the past several years and it looks like there is no perspective of a bright future in front of me. What I am doing at work is not interesting for me, so why do I need all of it," Alekseyev asked, sitting in his underground house between piles of books.
After leaving his job, the next decision he had to make was what kind house he wanted to live it and where.
He decided to settle not too far away from Moscow - just above 100 km (62 miles) north of Moscow and turned a self-made dugout in his new home.
"I started thinking what kind of house should I make myself, there were some ideas, I thought them over but not for a long time and I've decided that I should build myself a dugout. From that moment on I took a shovel... because what does the man need to build a house in the ground? He needs to take a shovel, to choose a place where to make it. So I came, chose the place and started digging," said Alekseyev, who doesn't shy away from the comforts of civilization: he has a computer, a cell phone, an iPad, and thousands of followers on social media and through his blog. Not long ago, the 42-year-old built himself a steam bath, powered by electricity from solar panels. During the dark winter months he turns on a generator that runs off gasoline.
And he doesn't live like a hermit. Almost every day he has a visitor.
Friends and strangers drop by to exchange books from his library of more than 4,500 titles, or just to see how he lives. Some bring food or fuel. Others pay his Internet bill.
Outside the house Alekseyev placed the large sign reading "Navalny" with letters painted on large round pieces of wood. He is a supporter of Alexei Navalny, an anti-corruption activist who announced his decision to run for president in 2018.
"Putin with his criminal team has literally destroyed the alternative; he destroyed the option for political alternative. And in this situation Navalny symbolises this alternative. We simply have no choice. In Russia there is no choice to such an extent that Navalny has become the only chance to have at least some kind of choice," said Alekseyev.
Despite his disillusionment with the current state of Russia, he believes that changes will come and one day Navalny might become a Russian president.
Catholic League: "Trump Ripped for Religion-Friendly Stance"
A PR from the Catholic League Wednesday.
TRUMP RIPPED FOR RELIGION-FRIENDLY STANCE
Bill Donohue comments on a piece by Claire Markham of the Center for American Progress distorting President Trump's commitment to religious liberty:
Neither President Donald Trump, nor his competitor, Hillary Clinton, are known for their devoutness, but unlike the loser, Trump is a reliable friend to people of faith. That is exactly why he is coming under fire from militant secularists. The latest hit job comes courtesy of the Center for American Progress.
John Podesta founded the organization and George Soros funds it. They make quite a pair. In the Wikileaks email exchanges, Podesta was caught bragging about his efforts to subvert the Catholic Church. Soros, as anyone who has looked at the Catholic League's website knows, has a long record of lavishly giving to anti-Catholic groups. So it is hardly surprising that one of their own, Claire Markham, would rip Trump for being religion-friendly.
Markham's first salvo is so obtuse that it makes one wonder how low the hiring bar has fallen at the Center for American Progress. She accuses the Trump administration of wanting to "redefine religious liberty to only people who share its vision of faith." Vision of faith? No one save a dunce speaks that way. The administration has no "vision of faith," but it is committed to the defense of religious liberty, something Podesta and Soros have worked to undermine.
Repeating the lie that is so popular among Trump's critics, Markham decries his "Muslim ban." But there is no ban—only select Muslim-run nations with a history of sponsoring terrorism (as determined by the Obama administration) are under a temporary ban.
Markham makes a big deal out of the White House statement on the Holocaust that did not specifically mention Jews. This political attack reflects the desire to tag Trump with being unfriendly to every religion, save Christianity. Ironically, it is not Trump or his staff who has been tagged for being an anti-Semite—it is employees at the Center for American Progress.
Trump was also criticized for his desire to repeal the Johnson Amendment, the IRS rule that limits tax-exempt organizations, such as churches, from involvement in the political process. While there are legitimate grounds to question what a repeal might mean, the issue raised by Markham about a "dark money loophole for political donations" is pure demagoguery. Has anyone at the Podesta-Soros organization complained how this has affected the teachers unions and the Democratic Party?
What upsets Markham most is what Trump might do: He might issue an executive order protecting religious liberty. The draft that has circulated is magnificent, notwithstanding the need to do some tweaking. It clearly represents a commitment to expand the reach of religious rights, insulating religious individuals and institutions from being encroached upon by government. Astonishingly, Markham criticizes the draft for its "narrow view of religious liberty." That's Orwellian doublespeak. It is precisely because it has a broad view that she is going ballistic.
Trump's dedication to religious liberty stands in stark relief to the assault on this First Amendment right by the Obama administration. Religious leaders have a moral obligation to support him in these efforts.
Contact Claire Markham: cmarkham@americanprogress.org
How does Christie Brinkley (63 yo) look so good?
Short answer: Botox. By now everyone's seen the SI cover. Here an interview with a dermatologist.
"No good deed goes unpunished" Department
Here's a sad example as a woman dies making a clothing donation.
Mrs. Clinton speaks: First video since the Inauguration
On a site called Makers. :The Largest video Collection of Women's Stories"
St. Josephine Bakhita - patron of Sudan - her feast day today.
I've posted twice about her - canonized in 2000. Here's the original post from 2008 St. Josephine Bakhita - saint of Darfur and a video about her below.
NY Times suggests a Steve Bannon, Cardinal Burke alliance !?
A very stupid column - but several people emailed me, so here it is. According to the extensive article, Bannon and Cardinal Burke met in April, 2014. Below the link & excerpt is an excellent rejoinder by Catholic journalist Phil Lawler.
Here's what I emailed to a person who sent me the article -
"...yes I saw it but only read it when you sent it to me. They politicize everything - the only way they see the world ..."
Steve Bannon Carries Battles to Another Influential Hub: The Vatican
In one of the cardinal's antechambers, amid religious statues and book-lined walls, Cardinal Burke and Mr. Bannon — who is now President Trump's anti-establishment eminence — bonded over their shared worldview. They saw Islam as threatening to overrun a prostrate West weakened by the erosion of traditional Christian values, and viewed themselves as unjustly ostracized by out-of-touch political elites.
There are lots of problems with the report -
A Burke-Bannon conspiracy against Pope Francis? Nonsense!
Actually the unmaking of this promising conspiracy theory can be found right in the story by reporter Jason Horowitz—if you look for it carefully. Yes, Steve Bannon met with Cardinal Raymond Burke during a trip to the Vatican. But that meeting took place in April 2014. That was before Bannon joined the Trump campaign team—indeed before there was a Trump presidential campaign. It was before the publication of Amoris Laetitia, before the dubia.
At the time, Bannon was an executive for an upstart news service. Raised as a Catholic (although his current practice is a matter of some conjecture), he was keenly interested in religious affairs. As a conservative American visiting Rome, he was naturally interested in talking to an American cardinal known for his conservative views. No doubt they discussed some common interests; very likely they found that they shared mutual friends. But any suggestion that this meeting was the start of a grand conspiracy against the Holy Father is foolish.
Has criticism of Pope Francis become more pronounced recently? Yes, certainly. But that criticism is centered on a matter of Catholic doctrine—the teachings on marriage and the Eucharist—rather than on the political issues that are Bannon's primary interest. (And by the way, the thrice-divorced White House aide is not likely to share Cardinal Burke's determination to preserve the indissolubility of the marital bond.) I highlighted this - TF
American journalists tend to view all religious issues through political lenses, and consequently their view is distorted. No doubt Bannon sees possibilities for collaboration with some of the Pope's internal critics; seeking out such alliances is, after all, a major part of his role as a political strategist. But insofar as he succeeds, he will be exploiting the divisions within the Church, not creating them.
"Professor" Irwin Corey
Gone at 102. I posted about him when he turned 100.
Here's a 2 minute Smothers brothers skit from 1966 - "The World's Foremost Authority" as he described himself...
Rugby: Six nations Championship, England v. France
England playing at home.
Trump's Super Bowl interview - ten minutes worth
Getting to be a tradition, the President sits down with a representative from whichever network is showing the Super Bowl. I think these are the "highlights" of the interview.
Rugby: Six Nations Championship, Ireland v. Scotland
With Scotland the home team. Excellent match!
New record: World's longest passenger flight
"The long-range Boeing 777-200LR crossed 10 time zones on its marathon flight."
The world's longest commercial flight landed in New Zealand Monday with the arrival of Qatar Airways's 14,535 kilometres (9,032 miles) Doha-Auckland service, the airline announced.
There were four pilots on board as well as 15 cabin crew who served 1,100 cups of tea and coffee, 2,000 cold drinks and 1,036 meals during the flight.
A longer flight then the whole Lord of the Rings Trilogy films.
Pope Francis one minute video on the Super Bowl!
Really. (And my pick, which I posted last night - My Super Bowl pick - Atlanta to win)
Here's the text since it's in Spanish - video below it.
Great sporting events like today's Super Bowl are highly symbolic, showing that it is possible to build a culture of encounter and a world of peace.
By participating in sport, we are able to go beyond our own self interest - and in a healthy way - we learn to sacrifice, to grow in fidelity and respect the rules.
May this year's Super Bowl be a sign of peace, friendship and solidarity to the world.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Hello and welcome! You are at the "Truth in Religion.org" section of the ReligiousTolerance.org website.
Other sections and topics can be reached by using the navigation bars to the left.
Theological beliefs: These involve such topics as the nature of gods, goddesses, or other deities, the afterlife, salvation, seasonal days of celebration, sin, etc. These are taught as truths by the tens of thousands of different religious denominations and traditions worldwide. However, there are major differences in "truth" both within and among religions.
Social, moral, scientific, cultural, and political beliefs: Faith groups and parachurch organizations also teach and report about about morality and ethics; human sexuality; various scientific topics like the origin of the species, the age of the Earth, cosmology; etc. They often advocate for and against legislation and government regulations. Often, they promote beliefs as truth that conflict with the "truths" of other religious groups and the findings of scientists.
We have also noted in recent years that some of these groups are bending the truth -- particularly when battling proposed legislation. We hope that this section of our website will document individual examples of this and provide a more complete and balanced treatment for our visitors.
The Ethic of Reciprocity (a.k.a. Golden Rule): A behavioral truth taught by all religions.
The roles of doubt in religious faith.
Truth: is it absolute or relative?
How people view truth in other religions: exclusivism, inclusivism, pluralism.
Which denomination(s), if any, is the true Christian church?
Which religion is the true one?
Religious freedom: the path to peace, in spite of different concepts of religious truth.
Where and When Did the First Humans Live?
Foundational beliefs play a major role in many the bills being proposed or recently passed in Congress that involve sexual orientation -- like ENDA, DOMA repeal, the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy in the military, hate crimes legislation, etc.
Unfortunately, the term "religious pluralism" can be confusing because it is sometimes used to mean "religious diversity."


text:
The Essential Guide to Sikh Weddings: Engagement
After a Sikh bride announces that she is ready to be married, she will either look for a groom herself or seek her family's assistance. Arranged marriages were the norm until recently, with these still being common in rural communities. Many modern Sikh youth choose to find their mates themselves.
Regardless of how the marriage is set up, parental consent is very important in traditional Sikh communities. Because family members are so crucial to the wedding rituals themselves, the bride and the groom must win the approval of their respective families in order to marry.
Thaka
Breaking an engagement is considering a serious breach after this point. The thaka is a formal ceremony prior to the engagement, where the company signifies their intent to marry each other. Though no gifts or rings are given at this point, the vows are serious.
The thaka can occur on the same day as the engagement, prior to it, or even on the first official meeting between the two families. After the thaka, the formal gift-giving and prayers begin.
The girl's father will bless his future son-in-law with a saffron paste tikka on his forehead, called a tilak.
Kurmai
The engagement, kurmai, may be as far back as months before the wedding or even a few days before the ceremony.
The bride is gifted an engagement ring, and in some situations, the groom receives a gold ring from the bride as well. The bride will also receive a wedding ring after the Anand Karaj ceremony, but the groom will only wear one ring. Because of this, he may receive it at either the engagement or the wedding.
From Deepa & Devan's Wedding
The gifting of the rings is followed by the Ardas, a formal petitioning of God for the marriage ahead.
The girl's parents invite the boy and his family to their home. The Hymn of Bliss is sung, according to the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture. These recitations are always said before the Ardas.
After the hymns are recited, a prasad of fruit and nuts is offered as a blessing.
Throughout the proceedings, proper Sikh etiquette must be maintained - such as removing one's shoes in the home and remaining standing during the duration of the prayers. Sikhs also always cover their heads in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib, as a sign of respect.
From Aanchal & Manvir's Sikh Wedding
Giftings
The girl's parents present the boy a small prayer-book, a gutka, a symbolic (or real) dagger to protect his future family, and a stell bangle, a kara. Along with these gifts, he is offered Indian mithai and dried fruits.
The gifts given during the engagement are part of a social custom, not a religious obligation. Some families choose to opt out of the gift giving at this stage.
After the formal engagement, the official pre-nuptial rituals will commence, intended to seek blessings from God after the family blessings have been given.
Check out the rest of the series here:
Engagement - You are here!


text:
Q: Exception while executing transactions using OpenEJB 4.5.0 and MySQL 5.5
I use OpenEjb 4.5.0 and MySQL 5.5.xx with InnoDB engine.
I have a very simple stateless bean, with an injected EntityManagerFactory
@PersistenceUnit
private EntityManagerFactory factory

I'm doing a transaction as follows:
EntityManager em = factory.createEntityManager();
EntityTransaction tx = em.getTransaction();
try {
  tx.begin();
  Query query = em.createNativeQuery("INSERT IGNORE INTO `myTable` (myColumn) values (1)");
  query.executeUpdate();
  tx.commit();
} catch (RuntimeException re) {
  if (tx.isActive())
    tx.rollback();
} finally {
  em.close();
}

With the following configurations:
persistence.xml:
<persistence version="1.0" xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/persistence"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/persistence http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/persistence/persistence_1_0.xsd">
    <persistence-unit name="ejbPU-ro" transaction-type="RESOURCE_LOCAL">
        <provider>org.apache.openjpa.persistence.PersistenceProviderImpl</provider>
        <non-jta-data-source>mySQLDataSource</non-jta-data-source>
        <exclude-unlisted-classes>false</exclude-unlisted-classes>
        <properties>
            <property name="openjpa.jdbc.SynchronizeMappings" value="buildSchema(foreignKeys=true"/>
            <property name="openjpa.jdbc.SchemaFactory" value="native(foreignKeys=true)"/>
            <property name="openjpa.Log" value="DefaultLevel=TRACE,SQL=TRACE"/>
        </properties>
    </persistence-unit>
</persistence>

openejb.xml (only data-source definition):
<Resource id="mySQLDataSource" type="DataSource">
    JdbcDriver          com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
    JdbcUrl             jdbc:mysql://127.0.0.1:3307/myDb?relaxAutoCommit=true
    UserName            root
    Password
</Resource>

Running my small program and I'm getting the following exception:
org.apache.openjpa.persistence.RollbackException: Commit can not be set while enrolled in a transaction
Some digging and the actual cause is that dbcp ManagedConnection.commit is throwing an exception if transactionContext != null
Any directions/hints would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Aviram

A: OK, this is embarrassing :)
I forgot the two last lines:
    <Resource id="mySQLDataSource" type="DataSource">
        JdbcDriver          com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
        JdbcUrl             jdbc:mysql://127.0.0.1:3307/myDb
        UserName            root
        Password
        JtaManaged          false
        DefaultAutoCommit   false
    </Resource>


text:
Q: Celery Tasks with eta get removed from RabbitMQ I'm using Django 1.6, RabbitMQ 3.5.6, celery 3.1.19.
There is a periodic task which runs every 30 seconds and creates 200 tasks with given eta parameter. After I run the celery worker, slowly the queue gets created in RabbitMQ and I see around 1200 scheduled tasks waiting to be fired. Then, I restart the celery worker and all of the waiting 1200 scheduled tasks get removed from RabbitMQ.
How I create tasks:
my_task.apply_async((arg1, arg2), eta=my_object.time_in_future)
I run the worker like this:
python manage.py celery worker -Q my_tasks_1 -A my_app -l
CELERY_ACKS_LATE is set to True in Django settings. I couldn't find any possible reason.
Should I run the worker with a different configuration/flag/parameter? Any idea?

A: As far as I know Celery does not rely on RabbitMQ's scheduled queues. It implements ETA/Countdown internally.
It seems that you have enough workers that are able to fetch enough  messages and schedule them internally.
Mind that you don't need 200 workers. You have the prefetch multiplier set to the default value so you need less.


text:
Recrutăm
SDE 2014
SDME 2018
EFdeN
Solar Decathlon was born in 2002, in the USA. Today it takes place in 6 regions: North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and China.
Each team is scored based on 10 challenges, 5 are monitored by sensors and 5 are judged by various specialists from around the world.
The qualified teams have 2 years to design, raise the necessary funds, build, transport and assemble a fully equipped solar house.
Solar Decathlon History
Solar Decathlon has been a big part of EFdeN's history since its foundation, 7 years ago. Unlike most of the teams that take part in the SD competitions, we are an NGO that was specifically founded in 2012 in order to be a part of the SD universe.
EFdeN was founded by former members of Team PRISPA, Romania's representative in the SDE 2012, in Madrid, the team that started Romania's history in the Solar Decathlon. Since then we participated in the SDE14 and SDME18 and now we are pursuing a participation in the SDE21 as well.
PRISPA is the team that started Romania's participation at the Solar Decathlon competitions.
In September 2012 the team participated in the Madrid Solar Decathlon edition where they were ranked 9th place overall. They also obtained 2nd place in Energy Efficiency, 4th place in the Electricity Balance Sheet and 2nd place in the Public Choice.
More about PRISPA
The newly formed team, EFdeN , participated in Versailles at the SDE14 .
The prototype that we was rebuilt in Bucharest, after the competition, and became the first Research Center for Comfort Conditions in Romania, back in 2015.
More about 4C
At the first and the only Middle East participation for Romania, we used the experience of the past 2 competitions and obtained the 4th place overall, 1st place in Communication, 2nd place in Comfort Conditions and Engineering & Construction and 3rd place in Sustainability.
The prototype is now back in Romania and we are working on rebuilding it in the same place the 2014 house was built, in the campus of the Faculty of Building Services Engineering (FII).
More about Signature
We want to continue the story of Solar Decathlon in Romania and prepare the next generation of experts.
Thus we set out to participate at the 2021 Solar Decathlon in Wuppertal, Germany.
More about Solar Decathlon 2021
© EFdeN 2013-2018
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Many of us, no doubt, have heard these conventional sayings at least once. New Years, birthdays and anniversaries usually present us with a fresh start, an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and banish all previous mistakes into oblivion. How many of us have set lofty New Years' resolutions only to fall off right after the holidays? How many people do you know who swear up and down they are going to lose weight, join the gym, pay for it even, and then do nothing else fitness related for like the next 6 months?
Ping-ponging between self-improvement and self-sabotage is an age-old tale for many of us.
I do not disagree with the thought process behind these wise sayings. The first step definitely combats inertia. It gets our juices flowing. Whether you are deciding to pursue a new career, write a book or start a business, the first step often gets us excited. Still basking in the high of visualizing our dreams realized, we immediately spring to action and check the first thing off the list. We join a gym, research career coaches, buy a new computer, even register a domain name. Exciting stuff, right?
The real test, I find, comes right after. Many people never actually take the second step! They never visit the gym or get on that $1,000 exercise bike that's gathering dust in the garage. A staggering 67% of gym memberships, priced at a $39 average, never get used. They never call the career coach or launch their business.
It is so much easier to complain about a bad situation than to actually do the work to address.
Taking the first step gives us an early, but faux sense of accomplishment, making us feel good about ourselves. This applies whether we are looking for weight loss or a career boost. Once we finally realize the magnitude of efforts required to accomplish our goals or the sacrifices required, many fall by the wayside, coming up with a myriad of excuses and justifications.
Do you know your career goals for the next 1-5 years?
Do you have a real understanding what is required to make them happen?
Be honest with yourself. Are you prepared to put in the work? Are you ready to seek help where needed? To make the necessary financial and time investments?
Are you open and receptive to advice from a coach or mentor?
If the answers are Yes, then you are ready. I commend you for taking the first step. I encourage you to take the second.
Are you are a Millennial woman of color in a Corporate role who has clear goals but is feeling stagnant, overwhelmed or dealing with "challenging" work environments? Go ahead and schedule some time with a certified, like-minded, results-oriented coach. Together, we can clear a path to the third step.


The diminished scale can be very useful. When applied to a dominant 7 it includes several nice extensions and chromatic notes: the b9, b10, #11 and 13 and can be used with a plain dominant 7 or one with those extensions. As you may know the diminished scale can have any root note, there are only three sets of fingerings to learn. (See Scales for Improvisation in the Jazz section).
Each diminished scale is based on one of the four notes of a diminished chord and the interval structure is Tone-Semitone-Tone-Semitone-Tone-Semitone-Tone-Semitone. We can call this the TS (Tone-semitone) or WH (Whole-half) diminished scale.
As a rule of thumb many people think of the scale as "starting on" the b9 of the chord, but of course it could just as easily be the 3rd, 5th or 7th. Perhaps the b9 is easier to mentally commute as it is juts up one semitone.
Ideally you should think of the correct enharmonic spellings, which would vary depending on each dominant 7 chord, however while learning the basic scales and diminished patterns it's easier to use whatever seems simplest. Here I have mostly followed the convention of sharps ascending and flats descending, but have used B instead of Cb.
This is one of many useful diminished patterns for improvising, used a lot by Oliver Nelson.
If used on D7, the opening bar of this example consists of root, 7th, b10th, b9th, b5th, 3rd, 13th, 5th. Of course the Gb in this case would be F#.
If used on F7, the opening bar of this example consists of 13th, 5th, root, 7th, b10th, b9th, b5th (#11th), 3rd. In this case the 3rd is enharmonically correct.
If used on Ab7, the opening bar of this example consists of b5th, 3rd, 13th, 5th, root, 7th, #9th, b9th. The A natural in this case would be Bbb.
If used on B7, the opening bar of this example consists of b10th, b9th, b5th, 3rd, 13th, 5th, root, 7th. In this case the Eb would be D#, Ab would be G# and Gb would be F#.
Another very useful diminished scale lick that was used by Coltrane quite a lot. You don't have to play it exactly as written here, take some time to breathe if you need to!


Two three-dimensional seismic surveys totaling 3.4 square miles were acquired in southeastern Miami-Dade County during 2015 as part of an ongoing broad regional investigation by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department, that includes mapping and karst characterization of the Floridan aquifer system in southeastern Florida. Twenty columniform seismic-sag structures were identified in the three-dimensional seismic data acquired at the South Miami Heights study area in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The seismic-sag structures are commonly composed of a lower and upper seismic facies, where the lower facies is interpreted to be a high permeability column-shaped volume of intense karstification composed of faults, fractures, and collapsed caves, and the upper facies is interpreted to be a lower permeability column-shaped volume composed of sagging suprastratal reflections having little or no faulting, fracturing, or caves. The seismic-sag structures are columniform karst-collapse structures that formed by cave collapse or stoping (upward void migration caused primarily by the mechanical process of ceiling collapse) or both in carbonate rocks of the early Eocene Oldsmar Formation and in some cases in the lowermost part of the middle Eocene Avon Park Formation. Columniform subsidence and sagging of overburden succeeded karst collapse in the lower part of the structures. At the study area, there may be relatively higher potential for the columniform karst-collapse structures to provide cross-formational fluid migration upward from the Boulder Zone into the lower part of middle confining unit 2 as compared to a lower potential for cross-formational fluid migration from the upper part of middle confining unit 2 upward to the Upper Floridan aquifer.
Cunningham, K.J., Dixon, J.F., Westcott, R.L., Norgard, S., and Walker, C., 2018, Three-dimensional seismic characterization of karst in the Floridan aquifer system, southeastern Miami-Dade County, Florida: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2018–5117, 39 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20185117.


My sister is off for a shop in London town today and It reminded me of these photos I snapped a while ago. I like how this bit of graffiti found on Brick Lane is completed with the help of the locals. I've no idea if this is a Banksy or a copycat.
**After a little bit of googling I found out it's by a French graffiti artist who goes by the name Jef Aerosol!
I just wish I snapped a photo of a guy who was browsing some yummy Thai food. I did wonder why people were giving him so much space and walking around him carefully. The reason? He had a unique take on a backpack, an antique birdcage with rope attached as the straps.


I was wondering if it were possible to allow a graphic in a graphics layer to be modified by a keyboard shortcut. I'm looking to allow a selected graphic to be rotated by one keyboard button and moved by another. These would be done with set incremental values. Can this be done?


text:
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Our founder, Mr. George, said, "Publix will be a little better place — or not quite as good — because of you." Today, Publix is better and stronger because of what Publix associates have done and continue to do. We believe everything we've achieved is directly connected to our associates and the pride they take in their jobs and in how they support their communities. Our associates make a difference by volunteering to help meet the needs of many local organizations. When we support our neighbors, we also support each other.
Publix associates — past and present — make up the Publix family, and that is part of why Publix is so special. Mr. George believed it years ago, and we still believe it today — when you own something you tend to value it more and take better care of it.
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Little Girls Dresses For Weddings. The exhilaration behind the wedding dress phenomenon is something most women undergo. It does not take 1 special day of their own existence they have been waiting for and because such, when the time is actually right they go by means of great measures in buy to be able to find wedding dresses that they have got always pictured themselves inside.
When it comes to choosing between wedding dresses, two things enjoy an important part. One particular being, the visionary perception you have and just what you have usually imagined your wedding dress to be and the some other getting what suits your current body type. This regarding course is the much more realistic approach, and being able to combine your thoughts together with what's available will undoubtedly ensure that your wedding dress is truly special. the idea behind choosing a great wedding dress is that it ought to make you feel, which this particular design and also fit was intended specifically for you, let that be unique in every aspect.
Little Girls Dresses For Weddings image above is part of the post in Little Girls Dresses For Weddings gallery. Related with Wedding Dresses category.
For Wedding Dresses, You can find many ideas on the topic and many more on the internet, but in the post of Little Girls Dresses For Weddings we have tried to select the best visual idea about Wedding Dresses You also can look for more ideas on Wedding Dresses category apart from the topic Little Girls Dresses For Weddings.
This post published on Sunday, January 6th, 2019 . Read Wedding Dresses Tucson or find other post and pictures about Wedding Dresses.


Here's an amazing premise: a soul arrives to the "station of death" where it's informed that it's been given a second chance at life.
In that period of time the soul will be taking the place of a 14-year-old boy named Makoto Kobayashi (Tomizawa), who has just committed suicide. During the time he spends in the body of this boy, he must figure out what he did wrong in his past life, and why Makoto ended his life.
This is just like suicide therapy in animation form, even though the first 30min of the story are completely depressing to say the least. After all, we are talking about such serious matters which not only include suicide, but also loss of innocence, bullying at school, and even discontent at home.
Colorful is based on the book by Eto Mori, which had been already adapted into Colorful (2000) by Shun Nakahara — a live action version that had a complete different feel and focus. In this animated version, we are treated with the solemn story of this boy who's had it rough as we learn what it's like for him. However, as the film progresses, Colorful begins to have a brighter outlook on life.
As an audience, we go through a broad variety of feelings towards the people around Makoto, which include his relationship with his mother (Aso), his father (Takahashi), and his older brother (Nakao), as well as his weirdly out of place classmate Shoko (Miyazaki) and the goofy Saotome (Irie). But it's perhaps Makoto's relationship with his guide Purapura, which brings both- the lightest and most heartbreaking moments throughout the whole film.
If you really like drama, don't be turned off because of the medium, you'd be truly missing out. This is just as wonderful as anything you might be able to get in any live action drama.
Sometimes… I hate Aoi Miyazaki for the quality of the projects she gets to do. LOL It's unbelievable the amount of good films with great directors she gets to be involved with.


text:
// Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
// Licensed under the MIT License.
// Code generated by Microsoft (R) AutoRest Code Generator.

package com.azure.resourcemanager.vmwarecloudsimple.models;

import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonCreator;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonValue;

/** Defines values for UsageCount. */
public enum UsageCount {
    /** Enum value Count. */
    COUNT("Count"),

    /** Enum value Bytes. */
    BYTES("Bytes"),

    /** Enum value Seconds. */
    SECONDS("Seconds"),

    /** Enum value Percent. */
    PERCENT("Percent"),

    /** Enum value CountPerSecond. */
    COUNT_PER_SECOND("CountPerSecond"),

    /** Enum value BytesPerSecond. */
    BYTES_PER_SECOND("BytesPerSecond");

    /** The actual serialized value for a UsageCount instance. */
    private final String value;

    UsageCount(String value) {
        this.value = value;
    }

    /**
     * Parses a serialized value to a UsageCount instance.
     *
     * @param value the serialized value to parse.
     * @return the parsed UsageCount object, or null if unable to parse.
     */
    @JsonCreator
    public static UsageCount fromString(String value) {
        UsageCount[] items = UsageCount.values();
        for (UsageCount item : items) {
            if (item.toString().equalsIgnoreCase(value)) {
                return item;
            }
        }
        return null;
    }

    @JsonValue
    @Override
    public String toString() {
        return this.value;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
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Game On: Less Rules, More Play
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Chris Tulach | 2021-09-09T20:00:00+00:00
First off, let me take a bit of this blog to talk about who I am and why I'm here. My name's Chris Tulach, and I'm the D&D Play Manager at Wizards of the Coast. Some of you may remember me from past times - I've been involved in D&D organized play for 30 years, and came to Wizards to work on D&D organized play in 2006. I created and managed all of the programs for 4th edition and the D&D Adventurers League for 5th edition. Then, I went off to work on Magic for a little while, and now I've returned home as of late last year. It's good to be back!
I've been spending a lot of my time these past several months working on what the future of D&D play will look like. A lot has changed since I left in 2015 - the explosion in D&D play, the rise of streaming as an entry point for D&D, and virtual play standing alongside in-person play as an equal platform. Within Wizards, I'm working to ensure that D&D Adventurers League is able to continue to grow and evolve with the needs of our community and how to integrate what we do with the broader D&D initiatives.
Feedback and Challenges
In order to get a handle on where we needed to go, I needed to figure out where we are now. Earlier this year, I launched a review of our Adventurers League program. A component of that review was a survey we put out into the world in late March. If you took the survey, thank you! Almost 4500 respondents gave us valuable feedback on what they liked, didn't like, and suggestions for change for our program. (Don't worry if you missed it - the survey will be back later this year.)
We identified some larger issues that commonly came up in that survey. These were:
Rules and Paperwork. We heard loud and clear that more rules and restrictions aren't the way to go. Portability of characters between adventures is a big concern. Keeping the paperwork to a minimum is important.
Awareness and Communication. We need to provide more news and information on Adventurers League. We need to focus on bringing in new players and Dungeon Masters. Hearing from Wizards on play is important.
Connection. Wizards needs to help with connecting players and Dungeon Masters. Finding games can be challenging, especially for newer players.
We're hard at work to address the issues listed above, among other concerns. While this is happening, we're also planning for future growth and success.
Two things are happening effective today:
A regular blog feature from Wizards called "Game On". My intention is have a blog post series focused mostly on the whys and hows of Adventurers League. In this (mostly) monthly series, I'll give you a bit more context around the philosophy of our organized play and discuss where we might be headed. I'll also call out progress on addressing the issues identified above.
A major player's side rules revision. Today, a preview of the new Adventurers League player's rules will be posted over on our official Discord channels for community review there. This revision represents a step towards addressing several concerns, and represents a continuation of our efforts that began earlier this year with the removal of the "PH + 1" rule. More on that below.
The New Player's Guide
When we set out to make the new player's guide for Adventurers League, we had a few goals in mind:
1. Address every point of friction for players. We went through every rule we had in the previous player's guides (using the Dreams of the Red Wizards AKA Masters guide as a baseline) and asked "Does this bring our players joy?" If the answer was no, we had a conversation about keeping the rule. Most of the time, we opted to remove it.
2. Make it easier to get new players into the game. We wanted to remove some of the "culture shock" of joining your first Adventurers League game by setting expectations in rules for character creation and play that more closely matched with what you might experience in a home game when possible. This meant, for example, that systems like a gold piece cap were not really effective and really didn't map to a core D&D game experience.
3. Keep it short. We don't want the document to sprawl with explanations or have to solve for every possible rules interaction or player consideration. It should provide a solid resource for most questions, while being as succinct as possible. More expansive questions will be answered in the FAQ, which will be updated soon after the final version of the player's guide is published. To put it simply: this is not a comprehensive guide.
Now It's Your Turn
The community review window for this player's guide begins now, and will last until Thursday, September 16. We'll then take a look at the feedback and any changes will be implemented either in the player's guide or clarification will be in the FAQ. The final player's guide will be posted on September 22.
Please head to the official D&D Discord, and look for the preview player's guide in the AL Updates channel. Let us know what you think by posting in the AL General channel!
Thanks for reading. We'll see you again soon!
Chris Tulach
Chris Tulach works at Wizards of the Coast as the Dungeons and Dragons Play Product Manager. He's been there since 2006, and has worked on Dungeons and Dragons organized play, Magic organized play, brand management, and event management in his time at Wizards. Chris has a deep affinity with Dungeons and Dragons and has been involved in the play community since the late '80s. He is also an adventure and game designer, having designed over 50 adventures for official play programs and products, as well as a contributing designer on Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica. Chris lives in Seattle with his partner Kat Kruger, young son Grayson, and dachshund Tofu.
The leader in providing contemporary fantasy entertainment, Dungeons & Dragons is the wellspring for the entire modern game industry, digital as well as tabletop. Fifth edition D&D draws from every prior edition to create a universally compelling play experience and exemplifies the true spirit of a game that holds captive the hearts and minds of millions of players worldwide.
© 2022 Wizards of the Coast All Rights Reserved.


text:
Q: Rails - Access user_1 in a different model I'm trying to access a Model that holds two users -> user_1_id and user_2_id. When calling current_user.modelname It thinks I'm trying to call user_id instead of user_1_id or user_2_id. Is there a way to specify user_1_id or user_2_id instead of user_id when calling that model?
Here's the code that throwing the error:
current_user.occupied_sessions.each

User model:
has_many :occupied_sessions , -> {where(trainer_sesses: {confirmation: "occupied"})}, through: :trainer_sesses, :source => :trainer

Error:

PG::UndefinedColumn: ERROR: column trainer_sesses.user_id does not exist at character 122 HINT: Perhaps you meant to reference the column "trainer_sesses.user_1_id" or the column "trainer_sesses.user_2_id". : SELECT "trainers".* FROM "trainers" INNER JOIN "trainer_sesses" ON "trainers"."id" = "trainer_sesses"."trainer_id" WHERE "trainer_sesses"."user_id" = $1 AND "trainer_sesses"."confirmation" = $2

Any help is appreciated, thank you!

A: I think by convention Rails assumes that the foreign key of User in TrainerSesses will be user_id. Therefore you will need to overwrite this behaviour.
I'm unsure exactly what your database schema is so I've put has_many :trainer_sesses but you can change that to whatever your association is supposed to be!
Try something like this in your User model:
has_many :occupied_sessions,-> {where(trainer_sesses: {confirmation: "occupied"})}, through: :trainer_sesses, :source => :trainer,
has_many :trainer_sesses, :foreign_key => :user_1_id


text:
Straw poll at Values Voter Presidential Debate
By Janet Porter
Published September 4, 2007 at 1:00am
Sen. John McCain's campaign called the Values Voter Presidential Debate staff over the weekend pleading with them to "Stop the calls! There are so many, we can't conduct business or make outgoing calls!" All because one of the 30 groups participating in the Values Voter debate suggested some members make calls of encouragement to the few remaining candidates who had not yet confirmed their attendance at the Values Voter Presidential Debate September 17.
What do you know? There are a whole lot of values voters. And just like they pick up the phone to encourage candidates to attend the Values Voter Debate, they'll pick up the phone to get out the vote.
Kenton, a college professor and Faith2Action listener, called the campaign offices and said, "I'm not going to vote for anyone who doesn't show up to the Values Voter Presidential Debate. If you care about our votes, care about our values." What those few remaining candidates need to realize is that there are a whole lot of people who feel exactly like that. I'm one of them.
But beyond those who'll be watching the debate closely are those who'll be participating in the event's straw poll – a straw poll more important than Iowa. Different from previous straw polls, delegates for the Values Voter Straw Poll have been selected by pro-family leaders such as Phyllis Schlafly, president of Eagle Forum; Don Wildmon, chairman of the American Family Association; Paul Weyrich, president of the Free Congress Foundation; Judge Roy Moore, chairman of the Foundation for Moral Law; Rabbi Aryea Spero, of the Jewish Action Alliance; Star Parker, of the Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education, or CURE; and Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt, who fought for the right of military chaplains to pray in Jesus' name.
"Unlike other straw polls where candidates have bussed in supporters or paid for their tickets, the Values Voter Straw poll conducted at this presidential debate promises results consistent with the largest voting block in America – the Values Voter," said Mat Staver, Chairman of Liberty Counsel and member of the host committee, in a release this week. "This will be the most important straw poll yet."
"I'm proud to be a part of this historic debate," added Rabbi Aryeh Spero, of the Jewish Action Alliance. "The social, moral, and cultural issues are of the utmost importance for the country's survival. And we are the group that is willing to frame this presidential contest accordingly."
And unlike other debates, this one will be spearheaded by the alternative media! Sure, the networks will be there, but people are already ordering Sky Angel just to watch it live – and planning home (and church) parties to see it in its entirety rather than just the clips the networks choose to show. They're calling their radio stations to cover it from the live VCY Satellite feed. And you can be sure they'll be gathered around their computers to watch at the Values Voters Debate website, and American Family Association website (and scores of others) a week from Monday, Sept. 17, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
And as a tribute to the powerful alternative media, moderating the debate will be none other than WorldNetDaily's founder, Joseph Farah.
As long as I can remember, I've been hearing complaints about the liberal media. I've heard about their power and undue influence. For too long the pundits have made their proclamations and people have fallen into lock step. But, not anymore.
Oh, you remember the last presidential race when CBS tried to influence the outcome with forged documents questioning President Bush's National Guard service. Then, CBS anchor Dan Rather stated:
"Our evidence may have been flawed, but we stand by stand by our story."
– Dan Rather, CBS News
Flawed evidence, obvious forgeries, dead sources and agenda-driven reporters? Of course they'd stand by that.
Paul Weyrich, of the Free Congress, put it this way: "The (conveniently) deceased superior officer who supposedly signed the cover-up document … was retired at the time he supposedly wrote the documents – and, it goes without saying, retired officers don't write or revise reports, much less on equipment which doesn't yet exist." I guess that's what inspired E-Bay to feature an old type-writer in their auction for those who wanted to create "more accurate forgeries."
The Bloggers, alternative and Christian radio, and sites like www.WorldNetDaily.com wouldn't let Dan Rather get away with it. It's a whole new world. Ninety percent of America isn't watching the network news anymore. What do you know? Talk radio really is "taking over the country."
And so, with the Values Voter Presidential debate around the corner, you have two options: Sit back and let the "mainstream" media drive the results. Or stand up, join the Values Voters and the alternative media, select a candidate who cares about our values enough to show up at the historic Values Voter Presidential Debate and take our nation back.
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Janet Porter is president of Faith2Action*: turning people of faith into people of action to WIN the cultural war TOGETHER for life, liberty and the family. Porter is the architect of the pro-life Heartbeat Bill, which has been passed in 10 states. The author of six books, she hosts a daily radio program and a daily radio commentary heard in over 300 markets and at www.f2a.org. * Title and affiliation for identification purposes only.
Think the election is over? Think again!
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