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Trump – and Trouble – in Paradise
November 27, 2016 , by Ed Rampell
Ventures in Paradise
Much has been made about how the Republican contender for the White House frequently changes positions and the way Trump on the stump is vague about policies. What is one to make of The Donald-who-would-be-president Pulitzer Prize-winner David Cay Johnston's new book, The Making of Donald Trump (Melville House Publishing), sheds light on how the real estate baron/reality TV star really operates. In an interview, the investigative reporter – who has known and been covering Trump since 1988 – described his 263-page tome as "essentially everything in the public record that Trump does not want you to know."
Among those things the GOP nominee presumably doesn't want voters informed about is the sound and fury that surrounded Trump International Hotel and Tower at Waikiki Beach Walk (TIHTWBW), which in 2006 the Pacific Business News (PBN) called "Trump's first venture in Hawaii." In The Making of Donald Trump Johnston covers the dispute over this project and the role – or lack of – Trump played in it. This is a cautionary tale that might provide insight into how Trump may govern if he convinces the electorate to provide him with America's most coveted property: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
"The Very Definition of the American Success Story"
It was announced in early 2006 that Trump International Hotel and Tower at Waikiki Beach Walk – a 38 story luxury hotel-condominium tower with units priced $500,000 to more than $5 million each – was being built at 223 Saratoga Road (and Kalia), which was touted as "Waikiki's most prominent address" (although it is not actually an ocean front property). TIHTWBW was to be designed in "Tropical deco style" with "koa wood" and "tapa" and would, according to Trump, set "a new standard for luxury in Waikiki."
The project team included the Los Angeles-based real estate investment and development firm Irongate; S&P Destination Properties; various architects; and others, including, significantly, Donald J. Trump, whose sheer magnificence and beatitude was oft-trumpeted in PR puffery as Manhattan's Prince Charming of real estate and an "internationally renowned developer" who "is the very definition of the American success story."
Involvement of this celebrity brought star power, glitz and attention to TIHTWBW. The razzle-dazzle bestowed by the aura of The Apprentice's host helped trigger a feeding frenzy. According to a November 10, 2006 press release by Honolulu-based Communications Pacific: "On Thursday, November 9…[TIHTWBW]…set a record for the amount of residential property (dollar and unit volume) sold in one development in a single day…The over $700 million (US) sale is the biggest one day sale in real estate history in the world. By the end of the first day…100% of the 464 hotel suites and residences were sold," to a variety of buyers from Hawaii, the Continental U.S., Japan, etc.
The ballyhooing added, "S&P President Sid Landolt stated: 'We've seldom seen such a positive response to a luxury condo with as many people excited about it…It's a testament to the high quality of the project, the strength of the Trump brand…high net worth investors in Japan are embracing… the Trump name for quality and investment value.'"
In an interview via phone with David Cay Johnston in New York, the author asserted: "Trump promoted this project…at Waikiki as a Trump development. And as with many other projects he referred to himself as the 'developer' or the 'builder.' In fact, all he did was license his name to be on the building."
As Juliet asked in Shakespeare's tragedy about star-crossed lovers: "What's in a name?" It turns out that when it comes to branding and property prices, quite a lot is at stake. By 2009 some purchasers began ruing their TIHTWBW investments, suspecting – to paraphrase Romeo and Juliet – that this "rose, By any other name would NOT smell as sweet" – and litigation starting blooming in connection to this star-crossed property.
Johnston asserted, "After people bought into this building they made a rather disturbing discovery: The name was not permanent. Trump could remove it, he could demand future payments. In fact, he could remove his name and put it on a building right next door. So if you paid a premium price because you thought the name Trump justified that as an investment, you were actually at a great deal of risk."
The senior senator from Massachusetts isn't the only Warren who has held office and had a beef with Trump. In 1987, Governor John Waihee appointed Warren Price State Attorney General; in 1992 he joined the Honolulu law firm Price Okamoto Himeno & Lum. Price went on to represent TIHTWBW investors, including, according to a July 13, 2009 PBN article, "six Hawaii couples, two doctors from San Diego, the head of a California meat exporting business and a professional basketball player from New Orleans…'These people were investing in a Rolls Royce. They were told it could magically turn into a Ford,' said attorney Warren Price…" According to Associated Press, Irongate, not Trump, was named as the defendant in the lawsuit.
On July 14, 2009 the then-Honolulu Advertiser reported: "Price said his clients aren't suffering from buyer's remorse, but are worried that Trump may terminate Irongate's license to use his name on the project, diminishing the value of their investments. Details over how Trump or Irongate can terminate the license agreement were not disclosed to buyers, he said."
Shortly after Price filed his suit in Honolulu circuit court, Honolulu attorney John Perkin filed a separate lawsuit on behalf of other plaintiffs in federal court, alleging "promotional material for Trump Waikiki stated that buyers could 'obtain optimum rental income and occupancy' through the hotel owner's management of their apartment units."
PBN reported July 21, 2009 that Irongate countersued the Price plaintiffs in circuit court, contending they'd lodged a "sham lawsuit brought without any objective merit or probable cause and is part of the defendants' broader plan to attempt to harm and devalue the project."
Waikiki's Not-So Great Gatsby
Johnston said TIHTWBW "was completed; Trump's name is still on it. There are a lot of people who got wiped out and lost money on it. The Trump Waikiki project is not some aberration. There were projects in Baja California, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and complaints by investors about the Trump Soho in New York. And in some of these projects – the ones in Florida and the Soho – Donald Trump's partners included Felix Sater, but it was hidden from both anchors and investors that he was a violent, convicted felon who ran a stock swindle. That's pretty serious."
In The Making of Donald Trump (which has 44 pages of endnotes) and this interview, Johnston alleged Trump has had other ties to criminals and organized crime, including to "the Genovese and Gambino crime families. Donald, throughout his life, has embraced con artists, swindlers, mafia, reputed Russian mobsters and a major drug trafficker in his business dealings." In addition to a Pulitzer, Johnston won the Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE) Medal and a George Polk Award. An ex-president of IRE, he wrote several New York Times bestsellers. A former Times reporter, Johnston has focused on economics and taught tax at Syracuse University College of Law.
An out of court agreement was reached in the TIHTWBW federal lawsuit, while Johnston believes the circuit court case was "settled and sealed." But did Trump violate Hawaii State laws? In his book Johnston wrote: "Hawaii law requires disclosure of all material facts to buyers. Trump's status as a mere licensor was obviously material to making an investment decision based on the supposed value the Trump name would add to the building."
Johnston went on to say: "What Trump ran into are state security laws known as 'Blue Sky Laws,' because swindlers used to come along and tell people basically they were selling them 'the great blue sky.' You can pump up something – and say, 'this is the world's greatest building.' That's a matter of opinion. But you're not allowed to make specific claims and to assert things like, 'this is a Trump building,' when in fact it's not a Trump building – it just has Trump's name on it. That's what violates securities laws. You have to give an accurate and honest description."
A Feb. 22, 2016 CNN report about a similar case regarding Trump Tower in Fort Lauderdale, which was foreclosed upon, noted, "The Trump Organization has had to fight similar lawsuits in Tampa, Waikiki, Baja Mexico [where the property was never actually built and investors lost fortunes] and Toronto." The story included a video clip from Trump's 2013 deposition regarding the Florida project, telling the judge "the word developing…doesn't mean that we're the developers."
A Human Shingle
Timothy O'Brien calls Trump, "a human shingle who, with unquenchable ubiquity, licenses his name for tidy fees," in his 2005 biography TrumpNation. Johnston noted, "Yes, that's the principal way Donald makes money these days. Because bankers in the U.S. basically won't loan him money or they'll loan him money only under circumstances where, no matter what happens, they'll get paid back…So what Donald does is he puts his name on steaks, vodka, bottled water, a board game, neckties made in China, furniture made in Turkey, all of which are ventures in which he puts up no cash, has no skin in the game, and he collects fees that are guaranteed to him. That's, in some ways, an indication of how Trump has been brilliant about developing his name as a brand. That's rather remarkable, that he can pull that off and people will pay premium prices for products that have the Trump name on it. Or at least they have been, until the time he began these racist, xenophobic rants in his campaign for the White House."
In The Making of Donald Trump's introduction Johnston writes about being assigned in 1988 by The Philadelphia Inquirer to cover Atlantic City, where he first met Trump and quickly "sized him up as a modern P.T. Barnum," the 19th century circus showman and hoaxster who reputedly declared: "There's a sucker born every minute." While Trump's role vis-à-vis Trump International Hotel and Tower at Waikiki Beach Walk may remind buyers to beware, his presidential bid should make voters beware.
For more information see: http://www.mhpbooks.com/books/the-making-of-donald-trump/ and http://davidcayjohnston.com/.
Editor's note: This piece was written on October 30, 2016.


Oak Staircase Spindles Bespoke Staircase Design Manufacture And Professional Picture 37 - The image above with the title Oak Staircase Spindles Bespoke Staircase Design Manufacture And Professional Picture 37, is part of Oak Staircase Spindles picture gallery. Size for this image is 449 × 630, a part of Staircase Solutions category and tagged with oak, staircase, spindles, published October 11th, 2016 09:11:43 AM by Mary. Find or search for images related to "Oak Staircase Spindles Bespoke Staircase Design Manufacture And Professional Picture 37" in another posts. Back to: Oak Staircase Spindles.


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Oral History Project:
Jazz at Westminster Presbyterian Church
The Lived Experiences of DC's Musicians
Funded by a generous grant from DC Humanities, this Oral History Project focuses on the lived and shared experiences of jazz musicians who have performed at Jazz at Westminster Presbyterian Church and who were born, raised, or call Washington, DC their home.
Westminster Presbyterian Church, DC's Jazz Church, located in Southwest, Washington, DC, has a long and storied history of supporting local musicians, and the DC community-at-large through jazz and blues music performances.
Through this Oral History Project, we explore and share the interconnected stories of DC musicians as it relates to Westminster Presbyterian Church. We inquire on the role DC musicians have played in defining and representing the culture of Washington through their personal and lived experiences.
Bobby Felder
Bobby Felder is a jazz trombonist, pianist, conductor and composer. His band regularly performs at Jazz Night at Westminster Presbyterian Church. For several years, Felder's eight piece jazz band has peformed the Friday after Thanksgiving at Jazz at Westminster Presbyterian Church.
Brian Hamilton
Reverend Brian Hamilton is co-pastor of the Westminster Presbyterian Church, which hosts the weekly Friday "Jazz Night in DC " concerts. He co-organizes the series with singer Dick Smith.
Corcoran Holt
Corcoran Holt is a bassist that grew up in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C.,learning jazz and African music. As a teenager and young adult, he attended many concerts atthe Westminster Presbyterian Church's "Jazz Night in DC" series before hestarted performingat the church in his 20s.
Lenny Robinson
Leonard "Lenny" Robinson is a jazz drummer and a music educator in Washington, D.C. He is a veteran and frequent performer at the Westminster Presbyterian Church's "Jazz Night in D.C." series, having performed at over 200 times
by estimation
Herb Scott
Herbert Scott is a saxophonist that grew up in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C.,and came up through the DC public schools' music education programs and the Duke EllingtonSchool of the Arts. Since returning to D.C. following his undergraduatestudies at MichiganState, Scott has become a major player on the D.C. jazz scene, including founding the CapitolHill Jazz Foundation. He started seeing shows at the Westminster Presbyterian Church's Friday"Jazz Night in DC" series as a teenager and hassince played the church multiple times as eithera sideman or as a headliner there.
Richard "Dick" Smith is a singer and activist for the jazz community in Washington, D.C. He co-founded the "Jazz Night" series at Westminster Presbyterian Church with Reverend Brian Hamilton and he curates the performers.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Originally from Casamance, Mamadou Tall Diedhiou lives and works in Dakar.
He makes birds from what he gleans here and there. With fabric, wood, metal, straw or shoe soles or eyeglass frames, he creates funny and poetic birds.


You Could Win a Copy of Prep Work!
Take a look at Stumbling Over Chaos — I'm giving away a copy of my new story. Leave a comment saying you're interested, and you could be the first on your block to read about Jude and Tommy. Prep Work will be out on August 17th from Dreamspinner; you'll want to know what these two do in the kitchen and in the bedroom — or if they ever manage to get there.
Celebrity chef Jude Marshall's ditched his camera crew for the first time in a month—he's been eating his way through local cuisines on several continents for his television show. No spider-on-a-stick this trip, thank God. Jude's exhausted; all he wants on his London layover is a pint of beer and some comfort food. Stumbling into a gastro-pub, Jude instead finds haute cuisine; his grumbles bring him face to face with chef—and fan—Tommy Bell.
When Jude steps into the kitchen to autograph Tommy's copy of his cookbook, he finds himself lending a hand, and discovers it's possible to tenderize a hardened heart.
Check here for an excerpt–you'll be wanting a pint at The Good Man as much as Jude does.
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Synan Says: The Real Top 25 in College Football, Week 6
MIKE SYNAN
The state of football in the state of Florida changed dramatically over the offseason with three new coaches coming to Florida, UCF and FSU. Almost halfway through the season, the three programs could not be in more different places.
Florida fans, you have to like where your program is at after a thrilling home win over LSU to take the Gators to 5-1. All of a sudden, the Gators are a contender in the SEC East. It's a long way from just weeks ago when Florida was run over by Kentucky and gave up 303 rushing yards. Florida's defense had been its calling card during the Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain eras and it seems like the cupboard is not completely bare there. An interception return for a touchdown sealed the deal for the Gators and the crowd provided that big game atmosphere that has disappeared in recent years the Swamp. Dr. Synan has a diagnosis for the Gators. Your condition is improving, and you may return to work. Expect the occasional setback as you work your way back to full health.
At UCF, expectations were high even though well regarded Coach Scott Frost left for Nebraska. UCF brought in former Missouri Offensive Coordinator Josh Heupel and people were not sure what to think. Would UCF get the brilliant OC that led Missouri to a top 10 offense or the bumbling OC at Oklahoma that got canned in favor of Lincoln Riley? The answer is clear as UCF is rolling. This school deserves the respect they are finally getting from the national media and pollsters after again putting up 40 plus points in a decisive win. Not only is UCF undefeated, none of their opponents has even been competitive against them. Have they reached their ceiling in the polls? Maybe but it should not diminish what is going to be another year of exceeding expectations for the Knights. Dr. Synan's prognosis? Whoever called UCF sick without Scott Frost gave you a misdiagnosis. Return to winning immediately and do not expect setbacks.
Finally, the Willie Taggart era at Florida State is off to a rough start. Does it surprise me that FSU took at 27-7 lead over Miami on Saturday? Not really. There are multiple Top 5 recruiting classes at FSU and Miami is an archrival. The Seminoles were talented and fired up and and it showed. Does it surprise me the Seminoles lost 28-27? Not at all. This team lacks important parts of the winning formula, including toughness, togetherness, chemistry, the ability to put bad plays behind them and most of all, a coach that can make the necessary adjustments to put the team over the top. A series of boneheaded turnovers and dumb plays doomed the Seminoles in the fourth quarter. I'll repeat my warning to Seminole fans: Willie Taggart is historically terrible in his first two years at a program but then turns it around in a remarkable way. Dr Synan's diagnosis for FSU is a tough one. We are checking you back into the hospital for further observation and things may get worse before they get better.
One quick note on the rankings: it's difficult to figure out which one loss team should be ranked where. For example, how could you have LSU ahead of a Florida team that just beat them? The answer, for me, is all about which team you lost to. I believe teams should be penalized more for losing to inferior teams than they should for losing to a good one. It's not the perfect answer but there are none in college football and that makes it my favorite sport. Let's argue about it.
Top 25 for the Week Beginning October 7
Notre Dame (6-0) The Irish have already beaten Michigan, Stanford and won at Virginia Tech.
Alabama (6-0) Third stringers gave up some points to Arkansas. It didn't matter.
Ohio State (6-0) Wins at Penn State and at TCU are still impressive.
Clemson (6-0) Finally dominated a team the way they should with a 63-3 win over Wake Forest.
Georgia (6-0) Now they've beaten Vanderbilt too. So what?
West Virginia (5-0) Feel the same way about them as I do about UGA and UCF. Beat someone already.
UCF (6-0) Rolled another completely inferior AAC team.
LSU (5-1) Still have wins over Miami and at Auburn.
Texas (5-1) Yes, the Maryland loss stinks but the Longhorns also beat TCU, Oklahoma, and USC.
Colorado (5-0) Arizona State a decent, but not great, win.
Kentucky (5-1) Wildcat wins over Florida and Mississipi State look better this week.
Florida (5-1) Don't expect them to be here at the end of the season.
South Florida (5-0) Beat both Power 5 schools they played.
Washington (5-1) Beaten Utah, Arizona State which still better wins than the next four teams on the list.
NC State (5-0) Boston College better than the other lousy teams they've played. Clemson is next.
Cincinnati (6-0) One loss and they're out of here.
Michigan (5-1) Wins are just not impressive.
Penn State (4-1) See above.
Wisconsin (4-1) Pretty much the same as the two teams above them.
Oklahoma (5-1) Maybe the near loss to Army was not a fluke.
Miami (5-1) Boy, did they try to blow it versus Florida State.
Oregon (4-1) Most impressive win is over Cal.
Iowa (4-1) Resume is not horrible but not very good either.
Auburn (4-2) At least they've beaten someone in Washington.
Washington State (5-1) Only loss is by 3 at Southern Cal.
Reach Mike Synan at Mike.Synan@floridadaily.com.
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Synan Says, the Real Top 25 in College Football: Final Rankings
Synan Says, the Real Top 25 in College Football: Save the Bowls


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THE PRODIGAL SON - Luke 15: 11-32.
Christ's parable of 'The Prodigal Son' has two main points to it; the attitude of the Father, towards his wayward son; and the attitude of the elder son, towards his brother.
Jesus told the story, to highlight the vast difference between God's mercy, love and grace on the one hand, and the Pharisees hard, judgemental attitudes, on the other hand.
He used the figure of the young man's father, to depict God himself: and the attitude of the older brother, to indicate that of the Scribes and Pharisees; with the 'Prodigal Son', representing sinners,
The parable states the fundamental principal of God's dealings with sinners; and explains something of Christ s own loving concern for them.
We learn from the story, that God loves the sinner; every bit as much before he repents, as afterwards; and that, when the sinner has repented, he or she is fully restored into the family of God.
Let us look at the main points to be made, twice; first, in relation to their place in the developing story; and the second time, in relation to their spiritual significance, in the Christian life, today.
V.11. There is an assertion of self-will. 'Father, give me…my share'.
In New Testament days, as in our modern culture: it was the customary thing, for there to have been a death, and a bequest, before there could be an inheritance; yet the younger son wanted his share, before it was due.
V.13. 'Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had'.
Most of the son's inheritance; would have been made up of land, sheep and cattle. Because he could not have taken these things with him, to that 'far country'; the text encourages us to infer that the young man sold the land, sheep and cattle for spendable cash.
If so, this implies that some part of the family estate, has been eroded away, or even completely lost.
The 'far' or 'distant' country must have been a long way off, because not only the Jews; but all of the Semitic people, in the countries around; had nothing to do with pigs.
The text tells us that, in that far-away land, the young man squandered his wealth in wild living. The word 'squandered' is quite explicit. The wealth has been wasted away, with nothing good to show for it.
When he was penniless; and a famine set in, and he was in great need; he hired himself out to a citizen of that country - but little good came out of looking after the other man's pigs.
The younger son 'came to his senses'; realized what a great mess he was in, and entered into a debate with himself.
He could see, clearly enough, that he was worse off than the lowest-paid servants in his father's employ; and that there was little or no way that his situation could improve, without going back to his father; asking to be forgiven; and being accepted once more: the alternative to going back home, being to starve to death where he was.
He put his thoughts into action; and went home. He received a far greater welcome, than he would have dared to hope for. His father was watching out for him, and saw him coming, while he was still far away.
The father; dropping any sense of dignity, that might belong to being the head of the family, and estate; and being full of love and concern; ran to meet his son.
He put his arms around him (the text says 'threw' his arms around him; much more emotionally-expressive) and kissed him. In that part of the world, then; and ever since; for a man to kiss another man, on the cheek, is a mark of acceptance.
The returned son had hardly begun to explain himself, and to plead his case, when his father waved all that to one side: it just wasn't necessary. The father had the best robe fetched, and put on his son. The robe was a mark of place, purpose and leadership within the family and the estate.
He had a ring put on his son's finger. This would have been a signet ring; and, through wearing it, the son could act in proxy for his father, sealing letters and documents with hot wax, marked with the imprint of the ring.
He had sandals put on his son's feet. Slaves and servants went barefoot, but sons wore sandals.
Wealthy households in that day, always had a special animal being brought along, against the day when a special guest arrived, or a feast was called for.
In having the 'fatted calf' prepared, he regarded, and treated, his returned son as someone so special, that the occasion just could not be allowed to pass without celebration.
The reason for celebrating, was made very plain by the father: 'This son of mine was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found'.
As we read; the older brother became angry, and refused to share in what was going on. He gave his reasons, which had a certain degree of validity, but which could have been put to one side, as he joined in the celebration.
The father did not argue a case against the older son's attitude. Instead, he stated his love and care for him; and then went on, to make yet another invitation: 'We just have to celebrate! Won't you join in?'.
Let's look at these points again, from a more spiritual angle.
Verse 11: 'Father, give me my share'. Through the centuries, especially in Victorian times, Christians largely believed that there could be no 'inheritance' until they had 'died and gone to heaven'.
However, the parable of 'The Prodigal Son' clearly shows that there can be a receiving of part of the inheritance before physical death.
As Jesus taught elsewhere: 'Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; and will not be condemned, for he has (already) crossed over, from death to life'.
For the believer, 'heaven', and the inheritance of it, begins now.
If 'heaven' begins now; then the Godly qualities that we receive in this life, can be misused, and wasted away; else where lies free will?
The ability to waste away the things of God; without the free will to do so, being snatched away from us; is one of the central points made by Christ in his 'Parable of the Talents'.
The Prodigal's father loved him enough to let him go; taking a great part of the family's wealth with him.
God, our Father, loves us enough to let us go, even though we may waste the spiritual gifts and graces entrusted to us; and become lost to him.
Verse 14 says: 'After he had spent everything ...', he began to be in need and, eventually, his father met those needs. Some Christians see this sort of thing as unfair ...
... on a 'have your cake, and eat it' basis. The young man had what he wanted, of both the 'things of the world', and the 'things of heaven'; and, surely, that can't be right?
To think like this, is to miss the whole point of Christ's teaching about the wideness of God's forgiving love.
Verse 17 says: 'When he came to his senses, he said...'. The 'King James Version' puts it even better: 'When he came to himself''; when those deep-down things of his true nature, triumphed over the lesser things, then he could return.
When the son returned to his father, he appeared to be driven by a sense of expediency, based on law and justice: 'If I do this thing, and say that thing, then such-and-such an outcome might be possible' …
... but his father was not prepared to debate possible arrangements; based on expediency; for he was driven by love and compassion.
God our Father, in the grace of Jesus Christ, is not prepared to discuss issues and arrangements with us; but only to accept us, in love and compassion, and to restore whatever may have become lost to us.
The Prodigal's father was watching out for him; saw him while he was still a long way off, and ran to him. God always watches out for those of his children who have strayed, for whatever reason.
The father threw his arms around his son, and kissed him. The putting of his arms around him was a sign of welcome; and the kiss was not only a sign of acceptance, but also of restored trust.
When any of God's children break trust with their Heavenly Father; and then repent, and are forgiven; God's trust in them is fully restored.
The Prodigal's father put the robe of belonging and leadership around his son's shoulders; the signet ring of responsibility upon his finger, and the sandals of son-ship upon his feet.
So it is, with God our Father. Just as the Prodigal was placed in a position higher than he had before he went away; into sin; so it can be with forgiven and restored sinners ...
... perhaps because the very experience of the severance from God, makes the restored-to-God sinner stronger in understanding and resolve; and, therefore, capable of greater things than before.
The joy of the young man's father, and his desire to celebrate, is in keeping with Christ's teaching: 'There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over 99 righteous persons, who do not need to repent' (Luke 15:7).
The older son took a complaining, judgemental attitude to the whole situation, and refused to join in the celebrations. In Christ's story, the older son represents the Scribes and Pharisees, and their carping, judgemental attitude, to the new things that God was doing through Christ.
By refusing to go into the feast, the older son cut himself off from what was going on. By refusing to accept Christ, the Scribes and Pharisees cut themselves off from God's new way of doing things.
But the younger son - the 'Prodigal' - became not only a 'new man' through responding to those deep things of true self; and turning back to their source, to God; but he also became entrusted with greater things than before.
Is there any way in which our lives, or part of our lives, have been lived in 'a far country'; where we have been rather prodigal in our use of, or waste of, the things of God?
If so, how might we turn back to the Lord once more? If we do know our need to turn back, how strong is our resolve to actually do so?


Hi guys! It's been a while since we gave you a wallpaper freebie so today we break the silence and restart the flow of creative awesomeness by bringing you this amazing freebie for October!
This month, we feature a stunning artwork created through the photo manipulation style of one of our amazing designer friends – Romel Belga. His amazing style in digital art features incomparable interpretations of various surreal projects through photo-manips, mostly nature inspired showcasing a clash of natural elements like human faces, birds, trees, mountains and the like. Check out his portfolio for more amazing works from this artist.
This work is called "Doe Egress", transformed into wallpapers that can suit up your PC, Mac or iPad. The collection include a wide range of sizes from 640 x 480 up to 2560 x 1440 to perfectly fit your gizmos.
Get this amazing wallpaper. Just click the button below. Enjoy and stay awesome everyone!
Feel free to tell us your thoughts about this month's wallpaper by commenting below. .


I move around a lot. I love exploring new places and adjusting to new cultures. I started this blog to share my experiences. I hope you enjoy reading my life. I will be heading to South Korea very soon...so stay tune for some very exciting reads, pictures and videos.


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Globalization: Village vs. Tribes
Амстердамский университет
An awesome course, very interesting and the teaching method was awesome. Loved the drawings presented, it made it a lot easier. Hope to be studying at this University in the future.
It is an interesting and interactive course. I have learnt basic Communication science theories with a visual and understandable methods. Thank you so much for your great course!
Introduction Question & Answers2:10
Metaphors3:45
The Role of Media in Society4:24
More Metaphors on the Role of Media in Society3:09
Primary and Secondary Research5:02
What's New About New Media?5:17
Globalization: Village vs. Tribes5:33
About the Exam0:00
Выбор языкаАлбанскийАнглийскийИспанскийКазахскийКитайский (упрощенное письмо)ЛитовскийМонгольскийНемецкийНепальскийРумынскийСербскийСловацкийТайскийТамильскийТелугуТурецкийУкраинскийФранцузскийШведскийЭстонскийЯпонский
A few students asked me to say something about cultural globalization. What is cultural globalization and what kind of trends do we see? We discussed that culture, and in fact our own perception of reality, is both formed and maintained by communication. Cultural communication is basically all communication, because we always implicitly communicate values and ideas, even when we are listening to seemingly meaningless music, or watching an entertaining soap opera, or reading a simple comic book: they all communicate something about the culture in which they were produced. Well, cultural globalization is, simply put, an international reach of cultural ideas and values, as a result of a global communication of messages. According to most scholars there was always some extent of globalization as people travelled throughout history. Historical developments, like wars, colonization, increased international trade, increased education, increased international tourism. These trends were all reasons for a growing interest in international affairs and created the context in which an international communication landscape could develop. But the rate of globalization has increased with the reach of our mass media It started slowly with cultural carriers that travellers took home, like little statues, jewelry or coins. The globalization pace quickened with the rise of print media. Books, pamphlets and newspapers made international travel of cultural messages more widespread. In the nineteenth century for example, English and American newspapers were read throughout the world. Perhaps this is also the start of a dominance of an Anglo American culture in global communication. Movies and television programs were again a new step in the globalization trend. A picture can say more than a thousand words. Well, these new audio visual media brought pictures and sounds. And again, they were mostly Anglo-American TV shows and movies that travelled the world. These cultural messages did not only travel the world, they also influenced the people they encountered. People felt culturally connected through movies and television series and such with people on the other side of the globe. The globalization trend has only increased in recent years, mainly due to the rise of digital and mobile media that a) give us immediate access to a rich assortment of cultural content from basically every country in the world and b) allows us to communicate with people in other countries easily and instantly. It is quite clear that today we have an international communication landscape that exists in a variety of media like books, magazines, newspapers, radio, television, cinema and the internet. But what exactly is its effect on the formation of culture throughout the world? As you know, culture creates a feeling of belonging. That cultural messages are now spread internationally is, according to some, reason to believe that a 'global village' is emerging, where people feel connected with each other, regardless of their country of origin. The global culture that is communicated through our mass media is the binding force of this village. It connects us. Optimists believe that all this cultural sharing will lead to 1) greater understanding and 2) a lessening of cultural misunderstanding and conflict. However, other scholars see a very different trend. Yes, people are now forming groups with others from other countries, but at the same time, societal cohesion in general is weakening as a result. Members of these groups feel more connected to the group than to society. This trend is called tribalism, and in fact means that as smaller groups become culturally stronger they become more and more isolated from larger society. These groups form modern day tribes. Their strong group culture is carried by their own specific channels with their own culturally approved content. The group identity becomes increasingly different from mainstream society that it in fact starts to oppose it. Therefore, scholars that believe in this new tribalism trend actually predict more cultural misunderstanding and more conflict as a result of this.


Upnumerique.com - How To Find My Routing Number Fifth Third. A tollfree number can be a potent marketing tool which could improve the response rate of an advertisement. Customers are a lot more likely to respond into a toll free number since it can not price. Besides these obvious benefits, they're also rather convenient specially for rapidly increasing businesses.
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The day quantity you're created on is known as the Gift Number. The Present Number is actually a unique gift or talent that you just embody that could assist you in fulfilling your life's aim. This guide is going to show you just how to receive your Donation Amount in Numerology and provide some information to what number entails.
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Learning numerology requires just two stages or phases-learning that the meaning of the numbers and also calculating the various private number worth. This guide is about the first-learning the symbolic significance of the numbers as they are presented in Pythagorean numerology.
Spiritual awareness comes in a variety of forms. Knowing the underlying significance of one's environment could be considered a very valuable tool in navigating throughout life. Amounts carry specific significance and influence you personally, your own feelings, your own abilities along with your relationships. Know the following what numbers will be important on your life.
Buying mobile numbers will be a lot like buying customized license plates for many car. The practice has grown highly popular over recent many years. There certainly are a range of reasons why people buy their Mobile Phone number. One of many benefits of investing in a Mobile Phone Number is having portability. Once acquired, the variety will belong to the master provided that because it's retained on a busy service.
Linked to How To Find My Routing Number Fifth Third, Many folks would like to avail of all toll-free amounts however, don't exactly understand how they do the job. Continue reading to discover about toll-free number facts and the way they work to to make your business an unqualified success.
To become successful, it is crucial for practically any business to maintain an open field of communicating with its own customers. An individual community phone line will likely be sufficient for a little business just beginning, but as the business develops and its particular customer base broadens, which certain cell may perhaps not be sufficient to stay informed about the quantity. At there, it's time to consider getting a tollfree number.
There is something almost magical about tough numbers: we all appear to suppose that they are correct when we have been presented with them throughout discussions. But, I would like one to think back to when you were in school and you were working on your mathematics homework.


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Just How Hard Is It to Draw the Shape of Texas? Pretty Hard, According to the "Ugly Texas" Instagram.
The account pokes fun at the many misshapen depictions of the state, from tattoos and murals to pies and furniture.
By Taylor Prewitt
Taylor Prewitt
Taylor Prewitt is the newsletter editor for Texas Monthly.
Our staffers' attempts at drawing Texas. Some nailed the shape of the state. Others, well . . . Illustration by Texas Monthly; Getty
There is perhaps no symbol more evocative of Texas than its shape, the most recognizable state outline in the union. The right corners of the Panhandle, the irregular swoop of the coast, the exaggerated bend of the Rio Grande: the figure isn't so much representative of Texas as it is synonymous with it. So we put it on everything: our trucks, our bodies, our walls, and our signage.
But if we love the shape of the state so much, why do we keep butchering it?
That's the question posed by @UglyTexases, an Instagram account that curates images of misshapen or otherwise imperfect Texases, from tattoos, food, and home decor to murals, advertisements, and maps. There are Ugly Texas necklaces, coasters, puzzle pieces, and pies (pecan, berry, and pizza). Each featured shape is warped in its own way, boasting shovel-like southern tips, bloated East Texas bellies, or out-of-proportion Panhandles. Despite the name, the Texases aren't necessarily ugly in an aesthetic sense, but rather kitschy or cringeworthy in their inaccuracy, betraying a view of Texas as provincial. The account also posts the occasional accidental Texas—riffing on the fact that the shape is so recognizable that one can spot it in a puddle or a potato chip, a kind of Rorschach test of Texan egotism.
"I always had this pet peeve about ugly Texases because it's so easy to trace," says Kevin Miller, the Clifton native and improv comedian who created the account in late 2018. "This got stuck in my teeth and turned into a minor obsession." He now has 5,800 followers and counting, and has inspired at least one similar account, Almost Texas, which he thinks of as a "Mr. Pibb–style" competitor to his Dr Pepper original.
Miller runs the account with the kind of authority normally reserved for government agencies. Each week, he receives roughly ten to fifteen submissions from "vigilant citizens," who "alert" him to Texas-shaped abominations, including some by "repeat offenders," including H-E-B, Buc-ee's, and state vehicle inspection stations. (The latter are such frequent violators that Miller jokes they could have their own spin-off account). About a quilted Texas shape, he writes, "Vigilant citizen @old.tom.frost spotted this #UglyTexas at the State Fair, which you would hope has higher standards." The tone renders Miller as a sort of concerned gatekeeper of the Texas shape, and thus an enforcer of the pride that it evokes. To that end, he's developed a methodology for determining how "ugly" a Texas shape is, measuring it on two axes: how perfect or imperfect it is, and how permanent or fleeting. A hand-drawn Texas on a sheet of notebook paper is unfortunate, but forgivable, says Miller. But his least favorite Texas—a carved-in-stone grave marker he once spotted at the state cemetery in Austin—will last for eternity.
"There's a weird irony to it since you're trying to show your pride in the state and, you know, in my opinionated judgment, you're doing the exact opposite," says Miller, who employs a blend of irony and earnestness as the Texas shape hall monitor.
A post shared by Ugly Texases (@uglytexases)
These misshapen depictions of Texas might seem like a new phenomenon, tailor-made for the social media era. But they're actually nothing new. As Richard V. Francaviglia writes in The Shape of Texas: Maps as Metaphors, outlines of the Texas map, which attained its current form in 1850, began appearing as graphics in the 1910s, primarily as a way to communicate Texas as a desirable destination. One of the earliest such images, a caricatured Texas shape on a 1909 railroad route map, would fit right in on the Ugly Texases account; the western tip with El Paso is entirely absent, as is the curve of the Big Bend. The squiggly Texas-Oklahoma boundary created by the Red River is just a straight line.
As the century progressed, similar portrayals proliferated. Beginning in the thirties, stylized Texas shapes—which is a nice way to say imperfect Texas shapes—began appearing in ads for products unrelated to transportation, such as beer and cigars. Crucially, these shapes manipulated the Texas outline to make room for business names, to fit a graphic space, or to incorporate other elements, like the Lone Star. In these designs, the Texas map became a "T" or a flag or a cruciform, whatever a particular graphic might call for. Just as the ads were selling the shape of Texas as a symbol of independence and pride, their ubiquity was also making the outline instantly recognizable, no matter the distortions, to the point that we can now look at a Whataburger chicken tender and instantly see an ugly Texas.
Importantly, Francaviglia doesn't see these Texas shape mutations as ugly. Rather, he understands them as creative, deliberate manipulations of a shape with a long history of transformation. "These abuses of the geography, you might call them—but I don't, I call them perceptions—suggest something about the playfulness and about the willingness of people to transform the state a little bit to meet their needs in terms of the basic imagery," he says.
Is this why people don't just trace the Texas shape, as Miller often implores them to? Possibly. For one thing, according to Francaviglia, it wasn't until 1993 that the Texas Department of Transportation adopted a standardized version of the map, creating a Platonic ideal of the Texas shape from which to trace.
But Francaviglia also thinks the Texan predilection for going it alone—without a stencil—might be representative of the same sort of DIY spirit the shape symbolizes in the first place.
"If you're a Texan, and you kind of have that Lone Star independent feel to yourself, you could say, 'You know, I'm not going to take the official thing. I've got the ability to do it and that's what I'm gonna do,'" he says. "So I think there's a little bit of subversion in there, as well as a little bit of conformity to try to keep the image recognizable enough."
Miller, for all of his animus toward ugly Texases, does admit to finding some charm in the misshapen maps he curates, both in how bad they can be and in how they seem to unite his fans toward a common cause. He adds that he would never seriously mock someone's ugly Texas: "If there's love for the state in your heart, then draw what you feel there."
Last year, Miller moved to Amsterdam to be with his longtime girlfriend. Leaving the state has renewed his appreciation of Texas; he recently bought his first cowboy hat. His girlfriend, meanwhile, has redone their kitchen in adorably ugly Texas paraphernalia: bluebonnet dish towels, a Texas-themed coffee mug, and accent tiles featuring armadillos and the state of Texas. The shape, of course, is perfect.
Think you can perfectly draw the state of Texas? Show us your best attempt on Twitter or Instagram, @TexasMonthly.
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Science Fiction Short Alone Shot and Finished with Blackmagic Design
Fremont, CA – February 10, 2021 – Blackmagic Design announced today that the science fiction short film "Alone," which premiered on WatchDust.com December 3rd, was shot using Blackmagic Design cameras, and posted with DaVinci Resolve Studio. Kaya Torres, an engineer with a sailor's mouth and a stubborn spirit, barely escapes her research ship when calamity breaks it in […]
Martins Popelis ⋅ Published: February 10, 2021
Fremont, CA – February 10, 2021 – Blackmagic Design announced today that the science fiction short film "Alone," which premiered on WatchDust.com December 3rd, was shot using Blackmagic Design cameras, and posted with DaVinci Resolve Studio.
Kaya Torres, an engineer with a sailor's mouth and a stubborn spirit, barely escapes her research ship when calamity breaks it in half. Now she's circling a black hole in a pod, with no one coming and no one to help. While figuring out what to do, Kaya starts sending messages to Hammer, a cartographer marooned on a nearby planet. And as their friendship grows, Kaya's options slowly dwindle, until survival seems hopelessly out of reach.
Written by J. Scott Worthington and directed by William Hellmuth, "Alone" was a case study in filmmakers following their passion to make a feature quality short film on a limited budget. Hellmuth, an accomplished cinematographer looking to grow his resume into directing, connected with Worthington after reading his short story of the same name. Hellmuth was hooked.
As a cinematographer, Hellmuth knew that creating a compelling image was important for a short film. "I love cinematography," said Hellmuth. "I love being a DP. There is so much meaning and depth you can weave into a story through visuals." So, in deciding on what package to shoot with, it was an easy decision. "I always knew I could get great results from the URSA Mini Pro G2. It was also the camera I've used so often in my commercial work, and much of my narrative work. I love how skin tone and colors are reproduced with this camera. Most of my strongest work has been shot on Blackmagic cameras."
Hellmuth decided to shoot the film with both anamorphic and spherical lenses, with the intent to create a stronger sense of isolation while inside the ship for the main character with anamorphic, while on the planet using a more standard 16:9 aspect to capture the stunning landscapes. He appreciated the ability to switch between aspect ratios quickly on the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, making transition between sets and scenes quick and painless.
Shooting in Blackmagic RAW also gave the filmmakers the highest amount of quality in post. "Blackmagic RAW was actually a big factor in choosing to shoot with Blackmagic cameras in the first place," added Hellmuth. "It's the best codec in the world. I knew shooting the film in Blackmagic RAW would ensure maximum flexibility in post, work great for visual effects, and be amazing for color. It's hard to define, but there is a quality to all of the footage I've shot in Blackmagic RAW that I love. The colors are always rich, and the detail is sharp without being clinical, and this quality feels like it's there even when I push the footage quite far in post."
To take advantage of the entire Blackmagic Design ecosystem, Hellmuth chose to post the film entirely in DaVinci Resolve Studio, starting with picture editing. Editor Anthony Parisi was new to Resolve but was able to quickly pick up the new platform. "I've been cutting in other programs for many years now and I was slightly nervous about testing Resolve on a larger, narrative film because of the need for speedy work on our post production schedule," said Parisi. "I was impressed with how intuitive the editing tools for Resolve were and I was able to jump in much faster than I expected. One thing that helped was being able to quickly recreate my old keyboard shortcuts. That gave me a jump start and eased me in right away."
Resolve's extensive editorial tools and workflow proved valuable to Parisi as well. "I loved skipping over the need for proxy files and getting to use the raw footage. Then, after the cut was finished, it was nice not having to wrestle with any EDLs and instead just hand the timeline over to the colorist." Scenes with speed adjustments on clips typically require an editor to review after conform, but since the film was edited in Resolve, Parisi knew the edits would be right. "It was great to have confidence that the speed changes would all be preserved without having to go in and fix any timing issues that often occur in the back and forth through multiple programs"
"In trimming clips on the timeline, I also love how you can visually see how much footage remains in a selected clip. You can see it right there in the timeline, so you know right away whether there's anything more to investigate. That's a nifty little feature that I miss now when I'm working in other programs. It is so helpful."
As a science fiction film set primarily in space, "Alone" relied heavily on every aspect of post production to complete the compelling look and feel, and the range of tools available in Resolve proved invaluable. The team, including colorist Dan Edwards and sound mixer Stephen Hartwell, were able to share project files easily, and with each change or addition, this helped Hellmuth and Parisi improve the edit.
"The Blackmagic RAW files were a huge help in so many ways," said Edwards. "They're so efficient in playback, working from separate offices on home machines really didn't hold us back."
With post production starting just as the COVID-19 lockdown started, the team relied heavily on DaVinci Resolve's collaborative tools. "This project happened right as the pandemic was disrupting how we were handling every aspect of our post workflow, but out of the box Resolve had a fantastic solution with its Remote Grading feature. William was able to jump on a Flanders monitor in his home office while I remote controlled his copy of Resolve, which gave us huge peace of mind that we were looking at similar images."
Just as with editorial, Edwards was pleased with how easy it was to work with other departments. "I mean this in the best way possible, but I hardly had to think about the editor or mixer! The turnover couldn't have been simpler, which was a great help with managing assets coming from people spread out across the country. It's also a huge peace of mind to just be able to hand over a project file and not worry about conforming render files."
At FreshMade in Seattle, Hartwell utilized DaVinci Resolve's Fairlight to create the big sound of "Alone." Though the story is set largely in one location, inside an escape pod, the sound design and mix still had plenty of challenges and moments to build on. "The idea I had for the wormhole sequence was that everything Kaya and Hammer had said was trapped in the wormhole, because of the whole space time distortion thing," said Hartwell. "So, fragments of their past conversations are coming at Kaya and at varying speeds as she travels through the wormhole. It was exciting to get a chance to further explore the energy that comes from sound in motion."
Sound designer Christopher Moore provided his session, which Hartwell broke up into 15 discrete tracks, as timelines in Resolve. "That way we could have the flexibility to simultaneously mix more micro and macro." The sound team then used the collaboration features to allow someone to mix on the master timeline while another person could be editing dialogue in another room. The team used the powerful tools built into Resolve's Fairlight, but its ability to connect to third party plugins was also a useful feature.
"For Key Compression around the dialog, we use BlueCat, which allows us to feed into the SideChain version of the Waves C6 Multiband Compressor and really get specific with the frequencies we want the dialogue to be ducking. We also use iZotope Rx for any audio cleaning and Reaper for certain sound designing tasks. One place in the film this method proved useful was the wormhole sequence, where we created some interesting pans and doppler effects. The way it was all set up in Resolve and Fairlight, we could use external processes and any changes we made would instantly update in the Resolve session.
While still a cinematographer, Hellmuth is looking forward to directing the feature version of the short, hoping to assemble the same team to create more magic. "I love collaborating with actors, designing a scene, and the opportunity to dive into every creative aspect of a film with the various department heads. And in the end, it was J's beautiful story that truly re-sparked the desire inside of me to direct. And that's really what it boils down to; I want to direct stories that matter to me, move me, and transport me."
Press Photography
Product photos of DaVinci Resolve Studio, URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 as well as all other Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.
About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world's highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design's DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company's Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.
This section of Pro Sound Network, "The Wire," contains original press releases that reflect the views of the industry organizations issuing them. Releases are not reviewed or edited by Pro Sound News editorial staff.
Tags ⋅ Blackmagic Design ⋅ DaVinci Resolve Studio ⋅ Fairlight ⋅ Post Production ⋅ Sound Design ⋅ Sound Mixing
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Photo Courtesy of Lily Kershaw.
A 23-year-old singer-songwriter who has been writing since age 13, Kershaw gained international attention in 2012 when her song "As It Seems" appeared on season seven of "Criminal Minds." Almost overnight, people around the world were buying the song, and it eventually reached #1 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter Singles Chart.
Following Midnight in the Garden, Kershaw headed to France for promo and finished a residency at the legendary Hotel Café, a Hollywood coffee shop that has supported the careers of fellow acoustic women Sara Bareilles, Katy Perry, Ingrid Michaelson, and Meiko. Kershaw toured Canada and the States, followed by another trip to France in the spring of 2014. This last year has been spent mostly on the road, with small breaks to stay at home and hole up in her room and write.
On her wish list of places to tour are India, Ireland and Scotland — but especially Ireland and Scotland. The attraction has to do with their dark, romantic rainy-ness. Plus, she'd fit right in. "I'm a redhead, I've got freckles and I'm pale. I feel like I'd be amongst my people," Kershaw laughs.
Lily Kershaw's art is that she takes the hard stuff from life — death, breakups, loneliness, depression — and places them into a song as a way of healing. It's a way to take life head on and receive closure, and this feeling of compassion and triumph resonates with her adoring audience, who has made sure that Midnight in the Garden hit the #5 spot on iTunes Singer/Songwriter Album Chart.
Songwriting allows Kershaw to maintain her ordinarily happy, sweet, grateful self; a girl whose friends call her "baby cat" and whose life aspirations include touring with Damien Rice and saving all the elephants in the world. In addition to her thanks for the existence of motorcycle boots, the color black and Paul Simon, big thanks from Kershaw goes to her record label Nettwerk for giving her creative control.
Lily Kershaw is headlining SOhO on Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 7:30 p.m. as part of her "Like the Sun Tour" through the States and Canada. Tickets are $8 on http://www.sohosb.com/. For more information about Lily, go to http://lilykershaw.com/.


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© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where the three chicks who hatched last month are at that cute but scraggly stage, somewhere between ball of fluff and full of feathers - and so far none of them are showing signs of being roosters! But of course it's still early.
As a city girl I'm not sure what you have to find in order to be sure you have a rooster. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Every time I see your chickens, I think "Man, we really need to get on building the chicken coop." And yet, still no coop. TOO MUCH TO DO.
i don't know what's cuter, the chick or your blog header! i love your blog - and you have cute chickens (unlike mine)!
So cute!! We are really enjoying our chickens. We are new to these animals and enjoying every minute of it!
I love peeking at your blog. Those chickens made my day!! LOL!!


When you are sitting in the sunshine on an idyllic beach in Juan Les Pins nursing a glass of rosé with the prospect of lunch with some good friends, it is always good to hear about terrible weather back in the UK. Sandra The Sultry Goddess emails to say how much her and Colin The Pirate are looking forward to a flying visit in a couple of weeks, and bemoaning the awful English weather. She relates that she bumped into some friends in Arundel early one evening who were on their way to the Co Op to buy tea bags. They stopped for a drink. 4 bottles of wine later, they went home with some borrowed tea bags in a doggy poo bag. She did not say whether it had been used but I am hoping for the best.
In the past I have mentioned the French predilection for strikes, but over lunch yesterday I heard about a strike by local school bus drivers earlier in the week. It seems that they were unhappy about the tight trousers of their uniforms and took industrial action. Now this begs the question; are the tailors to blame for making the garments too small? or is French cooking to blame for making the bus drivers too fat? Either way, a strike seems the perfectly natural response. The only problem I see is that, if they strike and therefore do not get paid, would they not then have to tighten their belts thereby exacerbating the problem?
After a fabulous lunch at La Petite Plage, my favourite restaurant in Juan Les Pins, we caught the train back home and found that The Nice Lady Swimming Pool Operative had created an infinity pool by dint of failing to remember to turn off the hose pipe before we left. I took this picture of Banjo the dodgy dog doing his best to help out by drinking some of the excess water. With the sun out, almost inevitably, we ended up drinking wine and watching the sun go down from the Pav. Just beside it is my fake plastic banana palm that the lovely Janie was once photographed watering when helping out in the garden. It was discussed and the conclusion was that it was looking a bit bedraggled having been out in the elements for several years, and could perhaps benefit from more of her tender care. I think it is fair to say that she was not amused.
With today being a Friday, the market is staged in Valbonne, and unless I can find an excuse I may be required to attend with our house guests, the Savins. I have an email from The Naked Politician suggesting tennis at the impossible early time of 9 am, but that seems a rather drastic response, however, it may be an invitation that I accept. It is not that the market is not good, it is, but familiarity can breed contempt.
Then it is downhill to the weekend with the probable impetus of lunch in Valbonne Square. I believe I may even end up looking forward to a 5:2 diet day on Monday as it will preclude having to have a drink, not that we have much left after yesterday.
The more perceptive part of you, my reader, will have noticed that, despite giving notice that I was going to stop producing this daily drivel dedicated to the excellent foreign exchange services offered by Currencies Direct, that like a bad penny it has turned up again. I am still not sure whether I shall continue to write this each day, so watch this space?
Eurrrgghh ! Quelle anglais épouvantable !
Sorry chaps an unexpected hospital admission has left me hors de combat for a couple of days and more irritatingly put paid to my South of France holiday in two weeks !! This is the third time in three years that my holiday has been cancelled or curtailed due to family ill health or accidents and I'm beginning to feel picked on !!! On a lighter note it's great to see the blag still going and let's hear no more about bringing it to an end !! Not long home so will attempt to limerick later.
I like a nice cuppa, don't you ?
Do you see what I've done ?
Now should I have one lump or two ?


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Home Cricket It helped turn a page in Indian women's cricket : Mithali Raj...
CricketIndia Women's Squad
It helped turn a page in Indian women's cricket : Mithali Raj on 5th anniversary of 2017 World Cup final
MUMBAI: One of the finest players to ever play in women's cricket and former India captain Mithali Raj remembered the fifth anniversary of the historic 2017 Women's World Cup final on Saturday.
Mithali, who led India to the iconic final against England at the 'Mecca of Cricket' Lord's Cricket Ground, said that they may not have won the ICC World Cup in 2017 but the event changed the landscape of women's cricket.
Mithali Raj took to Twitter and shared, "This day at Lord's in 2017 did not favour us but I believe it helped turn a page in Indian women's cricket. It changed the perspective toward women's cricket in India. The support our team received thereafter sparked a revolution with younger talents taking up the game."
India had concluded their World Cup campaign on the third spot in the points table with five victories in 7 matches in the round-robin stage of the tournament and faced Australia in the semi-finals. Harmanpreet Kaur's record-breaking 171*-run knock destroyed the tournament's favourite Australians as India qualified for the final.
India lost the ICC Women's World Cup 2017 final against England by nine runs. The Mithali Raj-led side was in a brilliant position to lift its first-ever trophy but Anya Shrubsole's six-wicket haul snatched India's happiness.
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Terry 'Turbo' Burrows, officially the world's fastest window cleaner for over 20 years, is challenging window cleaners from across the globe to try to take his crown at the UK's Cleaning Show in London in March.
Staged at the Excel exhibition centre (19-21 March 2019), the official Guinness World Record Challenge will also be part of a new international window cleaning competition, The Window Cleaning World Cup.
The Window Cleaning World Cup, sponsored by Unger, will see window cleaners from across the globe taking part as representatives of their countries as well as representing themselves and their respective companies. Participants will be tasked with cleaning three 114.3cm square office windows set in a frame with a 300mm long squeegee and 9 litres of water in the fastest time. They must also remember to wipe the window sill, and any smears will incur time penalties which are then added to their final time.
In addition to getting the chance to try to break Terry's world record of just 9.14 seconds set in 2009 (breaking his own previous best times recorded first in 1995 and then again in 2005), the fastest window cleaner over the three days will win a cash prize of £1000.
Female window cleaners are also being encouraged to take part and will be able to battle it out for a separate World Cup title and another £1000 in cash. They will also get the chance to try to break the woman's Guinness Window Cleaning World Record which stands at 16.28 seconds, set by Britain's Deborah Morris at the 2011 Cleaning Show.
Both the Guinness World Record Challenges, and the Window Cleaning World Cup competition, will be adjudicated by the Federation of Window Cleaners (FWC), the UK's window cleaning trade body.


We have been working on the gloves project this week and made some progress. First, we sewed the conductive thread to the inner fabric layer of the gloves, and soldered the amps onto the circuit boards (after failing twice, we got it right on the 3rd time). After that we tested the connection between the thread on the layer and the i/o of the circuit. Finally after paying with dream jackpot kasino, we started sewing the circuit and the connections onto the inner layer.
The sound produced with thread connections was not as loud as wire connections, although the thread was quite short there's still some resistances that reduced the amplitude.
A lot of discussions and thinkings took place before sewing the conductive thread. For example, for the piezo pair, there were 13 thread lines that went into the circuit board. This was one of the major challenges as the space on the back of the gloves was limited, so we needed to carefully plan the placement of the thread to avoid crossing that would cause unwanted connections.
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text:
Q: How to send an automatic email on an ios device using swift? When a user created an account on my IOS app, I want an automation "thank you" email sent to him, how do i do that? I saw a company called mailgun.com, but they do not support swift. Does Parse support this? What do i do?
If parse supports this, please include a link for how to set this up.
Here is the code i will use.
self.loginComplete("example@example.com")
func loginComplete(Email:String) {

\\send automatic email to the user.

}

A: The short answer is, "You can't". Apple does not want apps to be able to send emails from the user's mail account unless the user initiates the send. You have to use Apple's MFMailComposeViewController, which can present the email to the user, ready to send, and then the user taps the send button to actually send.
If you want to send automatically you would need to connect to a server that supports sending email, and you would not be able to use the user's email account to do the sending. You'd have to use email credentials that you had embedded in the app (or prompt the user for his credentials)

A: Like Duncan C already mentioned you can't send email from your iOS app. The only possible solution is to use a server which provides an API to send emails.
I've made a sample code if you want to use mailgun.com:
let request: NSMutableURLRequest = NSMutableURLRequest(URL: NSURL(string: "https://api.mailgun.net/v3/{YOUR SANDBOX DOMAIN}/messages")!)
request.HTTPMethod = "POST"

// Basic Authentication
let username = "api"
let password = "{YOUR API-KEY}"
let loginString = NSString(format: "%@:%@", username, password)
let loginData: NSData = loginString.dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)!
let base64LoginString = loginData.base64EncodedStringWithOptions([])
request.setValue("Basic \(base64LoginString)", forHTTPHeaderField: "Authorization")

let bodyStr = "from=Mailgun Sandbox <{YOUR SANDBOX DOMAIN}>&to=Receiver name <{YOUR RECEIVER EMAIL}>&subject=Test&text=thank you!"

// appending the data
request.HTTPBody = bodyStr.dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding);

let task = NSURLSession.sharedSession().dataTaskWithRequest(request, completionHandler: { (data, response, error) -> Void in
    // ... do other stuff here
})

task.resume()

Objective C
NSMutableURLRequest *request = [[NSMutableURLRequest alloc] initWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:@"https://api.mailgun.net/v3/{YOUR SANDBOX DOMAIN}/messages"]];
request.HTTPMethod = @"POST";

NSString *username = @"api";
NSString *password = @"{YOUR API-KEY}";
NSString *loginString = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@:%@", username, password];
NSData *loginData = [loginString dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];
NSString *base64LoginString = [loginData base64EncodedStringWithOptions:0];
NSString *requestValue = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"Basic %@", base64LoginString];
[request setValue:requestValue forKey:@"Authorization"];

NSString *bodyStr = @"from=Mailgun Sandbox <{YOUR SANDBOX DOMAIN}>&to=Receiver name <{YOUR RECEIVER EMAIL}>&subject=Test&text=thank you!";

// appending the data
request.HTTPBody = [bodyStr dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];

NSURLSessionDataTask *task = [[NSURLSession sharedSession] dataTaskWithRequest:request completionHandler:^(NSData * _Nullable data, NSURLResponse * _Nullable response, NSError * _Nullable error) {
    // ... do other stuff here
}];

[task resume];

Note
Due to the new App Transport Security you have to add a declaration to the Info.plist file that specifies the Mailgun API because they don't support the latest SSL technology at the time of this writing. Here is a link and an example configuration:

*

*Apple Developer App Transport Security
<key>NSAppTransportSecurity</key>
<dict>
    <key>NSExceptionDomains</key>
    <dict>
        <key>mailgun.net</key>
        <dict>
            <key>NSIncludesSubdomains</key>
            <true/>
            <key>NSTemporaryExceptionAllowsInsecureHTTPLoads</key>
            <true/>
            <key>NSTemporaryExceptionMinimumTLSVersion</key>
            <string>TLSv1.1</string>
        </dict>
    </dict>
</dict>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Because nothing says 'stability' like a Central Bank in charge of things, the smartest richest men in the world have proclaimed in Davos this week that "we need a central bank of oil, like the central bank in financial world." As long as they are not Swiss, of course. Oil has been volatile today amid these calls for stability after Saudi Aramco comments on cutting projects (supply) sent prices higher, and was then talked back by the CEO bringing prices lower. Oman - the largest non-OPEC Middle East oil producer - blasted that "we have created volatility," noting it was having a "really difficult time," and that's "bad for business," demanding OPEC slow production. But it was The IMF that sparked the greatest concerns as it warned oil producers to treat this oil price drop as permanent noting that they expect these economies to lose $300 billion. Only to be contradicted by OPEC's al-Badri who noted "oil prices will rebound back to normal soon."
So less supply - buy... But then..
Oman, the biggest Middle Eastern oil producer that's not a member of OPEC, joined Venezuela and Iran in questioning the group's decision to keep its output target unchanged even with crude prices falling.
Oman is having a "really difficult time" because of low oil prices, Oman's Oil Minister Mohammed Al-Rumhy said at a conference in Kuwait City.
The 2015 budget of Oman, where oil and natural gas account for 79 percent of government revenue, is based on an average crude price of $85 a barrel, Finance Minister Darwish Al Balushi said in November.
OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri said oil prices would soon recover after falling more than 50 percent since June.
"The price will rebound and we will go back to normal very soon," said Al-Badri, addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The Middle East is the most stable area on the planet. So yes, the IMF is correct, low oil prices are going to be permanent /sarc.


Contact Mercedes Benz Of Arrowhead today for information on dozens of vehicles like this 2019 Mercedes-Benz CLS CLS 450. There's a level of quality and refinement in this Mercedes-Benz CLS that you won't find in your average vehicle. This AWD-equipped vehicle will handle beautifully on any terrain and in any weather condition your may find yourself in. The benefits of driving an all wheel drive vehicle, such as this Mercedes-Benz CLS CLS 450, include superior acceleration, improved steering, and increased traction and stability. You could keep looking, but why? You've found the perfect vehicle right here. This is the one. Just what you've been looking for.


text:
Q: Filter data based on quarter of given date in VBA The user selects a quarter of the year by clicking on one of the four radio buttons (one for each quarter) and then I must filter the data based on that quarter.  I was trying with Autofilter but I'm stuck and can't figure out what to do.
EDIT:
The snippet of code im trying to fix is this:
 With Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A1")
    .AutoFilter Field:=2, Criteria1:=cell.Value, VisibleDropDown:=False
    max = Application.max(Range("E1:E22222").SpecialCells(xlCellTypeVisible))

Here, i use the Autofilter to get only the results that match the "cell.value" . After that I need to get a subset of those results based on the selected quarter. Lastly, I want to store the max value of a specific field.  What I miss is how I'm going to filter based on a specific quarter. The selected quarter is saved on the variable "selectedQuarter" as a number (ex "1" for first quarter, a result of DatePart("q", "12/22/2013")).

A: You just need to make the criteria a string with an operator concatenated with a date, and then use the xlAnd operator, like so:
Private Sub AF(w As Range, selectedQuarter As Integer)

Dim c1 As String, c2 As String

Select Case selectedQuarter
  Case 1
    c1 = "1/1/2014"
    c2 = "4/1/2014"
  Case 2
    c1 = "4/1/2014"
    c2 = "7/1/2014"
  Case 3
    c1 = "7/1/2014"
    c2 = "10/1/2014"
  Case 4
    c1 = "10/1/2014"
    c2 = "1/1/2015"
End Select

w.AutoFilter Field:=1, Criteria1:=">=" & c1, Operator:=xlAnd, _
                       Criteria2:="<" & c2

End Sub

Note, you probably already have one but you need a header field that is part of the range, and where the autofilter arrow will rest.


This program can find the value of definite integral of any function of 'X' within a specified limit. It uses Simpson's 1/3 rule to calculate the value of integral of the function, the number of steps can be set to get more accurate integral value.
1. Enter any mathematical function/expression in the expression field. It should only be a explicit function of 'x'. For more details about the usage of function, variables and constants click here.
2. Then set the limit of function to integrate. In the first field enter the lower limit and in the second field enter the upper limit. It is not necessary that the upper limit must be greater in magnitude than lower limit. If the upper limit is smaller than lower limit then the sign of the integral value will be of opposite sign. These values must be only real values.
3. Then set the number of steps/interval in which the integral result will be calculated. Higher steps results to more accurate value. Keep this value in the order of 1000 or 10000 (like 1000, 20000, 1E4, etc). This also must be a real value.


text:
Q: Adding a progress bar to lme4 (g)lmer() model computation Is there a way / workaround to add a progress bar (of any sort) for a lmer() model computation?
I often find myself waiting couple of hours for a model and would use some sort of indication how long this might take in order to plan CPU workloads efficiently.

A: No, there is no progress bar. You might want to suggest this in the issue tracker:
URL: https://github.com/lme4/lme4/ http://lme4.r-forge.r-project.org/
BugReports: https://github.com/lme4/lme4/issues

or email the maintainer:
Maintainer: Ben Bolker <bbolker+lme4@gmail.com>


TRAILHEAD ACCESS: Take 1-90 Exit 80, go through Roslyn on Highway 903 to Lake Cle Elum, along Lake Cle Elum to FS Road 46, then westerly on 46. Take the right turn to Cooper Lake and then follow FS Road 4600-113 to the Pete Lake trailhead above Cooper Lake. Take the Pete Lake Trail #1323 1.5 miles to the lower end of Trail #13 17.
TRAIL: Gradually ascends through a 1987 partial cut logging unit, then onto a road for 100 yards (to the right towards the creek). From the road, the trail climbs steeply along the edge of a 1 960s plantation near Tired Creek and enters timber, climbing steeply with numerous switchbacks, into the upper basin of Tired Creek and ends at Trail #1309 PolaIlie Ridge. Except for the steepness and a few rock ledges, this trail is fairly good. There is water in the upper basin. The upper 1.5 mile of this trail is in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Areas above 5000 feet are closed to fires.
SETTING: Partial-cut logging, old-growth trees, grassy meadows, open hillsides, ridgetop, valley bottom, subalpine area.
OPPORTUNITIES: Hiking, horseback riding, scenery, wildlife, camping, berry picking, hunting, solitude.
OTHER TRAILS: Pete Lake #1323, Cooper River #1311, Polallie Ridge #1309.


We now enter into the strange land of modern OB scholarship. I found much confused raveling of Robson's thought.
Although the diameter tallum regularly crops up in OB problems about circles --- and, one could argue, it was necessary in order to conceive of a circumference or circle as a loop whose opposite points are all equidistant --- the radius pirkum is never mentioned. That is not to say, though, that the radius played no part in OB geometry. We find it, for instance, in problems about semicircles. In those contexts, however, it functions as the short transversal of the figure, perpendicular to the diameter or long transversal, tallum. Indeed, this is the function of the pirkum in the context of all OB geometrical shapes [Robson 1999, 38]; it is never conceptualized as a rotatable line.
Figure 3, from a "text-book" on finding the areas of geometrical figures, shows a circle inscribed in a square (BM 15285 [Robson 1999, 208-217]; probably from Larsa). It gives clear evidence that circles could be drawn with compasses from a central point. My argument is certainly not that the radius was not known in the Old Babylonian period, but simply that it was not central to the ancient mathematical concept of a circle.
In short, to treat Plimpton 322 as a trigonometric table of any kind does extreme violence to Criteria 1-2. The Old Babylonian circle was a figure --- like all OB geometrical figures --- conceptualized from the outside in. In such a situation, there could be no notion of measurable angle in the Old Babylonian period . . .
The illustration (her Figure 3) does show though, that there was a concept of "quasi-perpendicularity," or more-or-less right-angledness. The squares on the tablet are definitely skew: it is not my drawing skills at fault, but the ancient scribe's conception of squareness. We do not know exactly what the Old Babylonian perception of perpendicularity was, but it seems to have been something like the range of angles for which the "Pythagorean Rule" is reasonably accurate [cf. Hoyrup 1999a, 403].
These remarks are at the heart of her demoting Plimpton 322.
there could be no notion of measurable angle in the Old Babylonian period . . .
there was a concept of "quasi-perpendicularity," or more-or-less right-angledness. . .
The squares on the tablet are definitely skew: it is not my drawing skills at fault, but the ancient scribe's conception of squareness . . .
We do not know exactly what the Old Babylonian perception of perpendicularity was . . .
the range of angles for which the "Pythagorean Rule" is reasonably accurate . . .
Hoyrup, from whom Robson borrowed much of her thought, on page 275, with example BM 85196, #9, illustrates the "ladder against the wall" problem. This is an example of many similar problems found in the ancient Near East over the next three millennium. Inherent in the conceptualization of this problem is the notion of verticality. The wall is vertical, and was understood as vertical. The wall does not lean at some angle. (The ladder here is at first vertical, but then slides down to some other position.) The notion of the wall being vertical has nothing to do with modern algebra or Greek geometry, but is a function of the human mind. If the wall is vertical, then it is regarded in relation to the ground on which it rests, and since that is at a right angle, the wall is perpendicular to the ground. Again, the ground was understood as being at right angles to the wall. In this one problem we have a vertical wall, a flat piece of ground, and the notion of a right angle. As Hoyrup notes, the solution requires application of the Pythagorean Rule, which again invokes the necessity of right-angles. But Robson regards this problem as within "the range of angles for which the "Pythagorean Rule" is reasonably accurate . . .," not exactly accurate. She thus betrays her attitude toward Pythagorean right angles.
Hoyrup discusses Perpendicularity and Orientation on pg 228 after he discusses Angles and Similarity. He summarizes the notion of right angles in a pun wherein he says the "Old Babylonian right angle was understood in its opposition to a wrong angle." I personally cannot accept that the OB scribes conceived right angles in such a way. They understood right angles. Hoyrup then talks about the metaphors of OB and modern minds but is unwilling to accept that the OB understood verticality. ". . . it is a horizontal and no vertical dimension . . ." He uses trapezoids to show that "the metaphorical plumb line might point in several directions."
Does Hoyrup truly believe that the plumb line, metaphorical or otherwise, was not understood in OB minds? A plumb line is the ideal way to determine verticality. It always points directly to the center of the earth. (Perception may differ if one is foolish enough to stand on a hillside.) In so doing it forms a right angle to the plane of the earth. Plumb lines do not point in several directions, and they do not denote horizontal directions. He attempts to show that the drawing of the problem is laid out on a horizontal plane: a clay tablet, a dusty shelf where it could be sketched, or some similar horizontal operation. By so doing he violates the principle of plumb lines.
Now consider how Robson treats this (to modern scholars) conceptual puzzle.
As she says: The squares on the tablet are definitely skew: it is not my drawing skills at fault, but the ancient scribe's conception of squareness . . . She definitely believed that the OB scribe did not truly understand the concept of squareness. If they did not understand squareness they would not recognize right angles, perpendicularity, verticality, or any other mathematical property so important to their work.
Now consider this clay tablet from OB mathematical repertoire.
This little piece of clay was discussed by Neugebauer, pg 42, by Hoyrup, pg 261, and many, many other people.
Three properties make it fascinating: a) its dependence on the notion of perpendicularity, b) its invoking of the Pythagorean rule, and c) its approximation to the square root of two.
Note how it is "crudely" drawn. A straight edge was used to draw the lines. But the lines do not intersect exactly, not because the scribe did not know they should, but because he is using it as illustration, and not perfect construction. The same practice is used by the scribe in Robson's Fig 3. The scribe is not revealing his concept of "squareness" but merely illustrating a circle within a square. And from this Robson deduces the primitive state of the Semitic Akkadian mind .
The square of YBC 7289 is inscribed with sexagesimal 30 along one edge. It then has sexagesimal 1 24 51 10 along the diagonal, and 42 25 35 in the lower segment of the square. The first sexagesimal string converts to the √2: 1 + 24/60 + 51/3600 + 10/216,000 = 1.414212963. The actual value of the √2 to the same modern calculator precision is 1.414213562. If you raise the last digit in the OB sexagesimal string by one you get 1.414217592. If you lower it by one digit you get 1.414208333. Clearly the scribe knew the √2 within his stated precision of seven decimal places. If you multiply the OB number at the scribe's precision times 30, you get 42.42638889. The same value using the √2 to modern calculator precision gives 42.42640687. This is the distance across the diagonal of the square, denoted by 42 25 35.
Neugebauer discussed the reiterative process to produce the √2 to the desired precision. But note that Neugebauer's process is a modern mathematical exercise. If the OB mathematicians were primitive, how did they know there was an iterative process to obtain √2 to any precision?
Since both diagonals are drawn, we may guess that the diagram is also meant to suggest the naive-geometric argument by which the square on the side can be seen to be twice the square on the bisected diagonal (and, equivalently but not directly to be seen, the square on the diagonal to be twice the square on the side). This is only a special case of the Pythagorean rule, but enough to support the assumption that the rule had been discovered by means of such arguments . . .
Note that he uses the term "naive-geometric argument." If we follow Hoyrup's illustration we obtain 302 = 900 while 2 X (1/2 X 42.42639)2 = 900 and 42.426392 = 2 X 900. However, this is nothing more than D2 = 2 S2 and its rearrangement. He suggests that the Pythagorean rule was discovered by such methods of finding squares. He does not believe the Pythagorean rule was discovered on theoretical grounds, contrary to the sophistication of Plimpton 322.
Conceptually, the illustrated square requires that it be exact. We must accept this requirement for the square to be conceptually and mathematically coherent. First, the OB scribe understood the four sides as exactly equal to one another. Second, the OB scribe understood the four sides as exactly perpendicular to one another. One cannot invoke this mathematical example unless the four sides are exactly equal to one another and exactly perpendicular to one another. Are they on the illustration? No, because this is a conceptual study, not a practical execution. Thus Robson's notion of "OB squareness" as indicating a lack of understanding is just plain foolishness. So also is Hoyrup's notion of a "naive-geometric argument."
The Old Semitic Akkadian scribes understood a Perfect Square.
Third, when invoking the Pythagorean rule to determine the diagonal the scribe took the result to six (seven) decimal places. But there was no practical method, either in the third millennium BC, or in the modern world, to measure the diagonal to six (seven) decimal places with the naked eye.
The Egyptian cubit rods were divided into "fingers" and "units" that were about a millimeter, about 0.04 inches per division. We should assume that the Mesopotamian cubit was divided into similar units. Resolution better than that was not easily discernible to the naked eye.
We cannot discern a thousandth of an inch by the naked eye in modern measure. We multiply our ability to discern such small difference by a mechanical instrument, a vernier micrometer. For resolution better than that we must use other methods, such as optical benches. (We now could do it by more modern methods, such as lasers.) Hence we are limited by the naked eye to about 25 parts per thousandth of an inch.
If we were to measure a distance of 1,000 meters we could easily discern one meter (1 part per thousand), and subdivide that into much small units, and so on. Unfortunately, we must take into consideration how well we can hold to 1,000 meters. Stretch ropes won't do it. They could be off by several meters in 1,000. Hence, when we talk about resolution of measure we are limited by our methods.
Looking again at the square with a calculated diagonal of 42.42638889 susi, (42.42640687 susi theoretical) we see that we cannot discriminate with the naked eye better than 0.02 susi. So how did the ancient mathematician resolve his difference to 0.0001 susi?
He would have been unable to measure to the precision stated. So why does the scribe state results with a resolution beyond the range of any practical measuring devices and the unaided human eye? Because he is not presenting a practical result; he is presenting a theoretical result. This clay object is illustrating a theoretical idea. The ancient Semitic Akkadian scribes could think theoretically. When they gave the result to six decimal places they understood that it could not be measured by any practical device; they were demonstrating theoretical mathematics.
But how did they arrive at this knowledge in the first place? Did they borrow it by rote from some unknown past? Did they calculate it for themselves? They had to know the general rule that 12 + 12 = x2 = 2 and hence that x = √2. This is from the Pythagorean rule. They not only had to know √2 theoretically, they had to know the Pythagorean relationship theoretically. The question whether the Semitic scribes of 1800 BC borrowed by rote from some unknown past become moot. Someone in ancient times had to obtain this knowledge from theoretical considerations.
Now where is Robson's belief that the ancient scribes were illustrating their primitive conception of squareness? Where is Hoyrup's belief that the Pythagorean rule was discovered by naive geometric arguments?
If the Akkadian scribes could not measure angle, how did they arrive at an angular relationship that was exactly perpendicular? Did they espouse a concept of "quasi-perpendicularity," or more-or-less right-angledness? Was this a range of angles for which the "Pythagorean Rule" is reasonably accurate.
We can see how ridiculous are the current notions of modern scholars concerning OB mathematics.


File documents an executed interior renovation project for a new bar and reception hall at the Mostyn Hotel, London, England. The existing lounge was transformed into a bar, and the existing dining room was connected to a new reception hall. Drawings show designs for lighting, furniture, screens and bar fittings. The project, and some materials in this file, was published in 'Architectural Design', Vol. 32, (May 1962), 260-261. Material in this file was produced between 1959 and 1964, and predominantly between 1960 and 1964.
Several drawings were drawn by Cedric Price and others were drawn by an unnamed draughtsman.
File contains design development drawings, working drawings, textual records, and photographic material.
See also a later project for the Mostyn Hotel (AP144.S2.D34). Group DR2004:0036 in the Photographic Materials series (AP144.S6) contains negatives related to this file. Group DR2004:0057 in Early Work and Miscellaneous Records (AP144.S2.D1) contains textual records related to this file. Group DR2004:1259 in Whitehall (AP144.S2.D98) contains photographs that only relate to Bar and Reception Hall, Mostyn Hotel (AP144.S2.D27).