text:
Status woe: Cavaliers not planning changes amid slump
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — As LeBron James and some teammates practiced free throws at a nearby basket, coach Tyronn Lue addressed questions about the troubling state of the Cavaliers while sitting in a high-backed, cushioned chair.
While he was cool, Lue's seat has warmed up.
With the Cavs mired in a bewildering midseason slump and less than 24 hours after a historically embarrassing loss to Oklahoma City, Lue said he has no immediate plans to change his starting lineup or rotations. Cleveland fans may be panicking, Lue's not nervous.
At least not publicly.
The Cavs are just 4-10 since Dec. 19, and in the past two weeks they've lost by 28 at Minnesota, 34 at Toronto and 24 to the Thunder, who scored 148 points and tied a record for the most points allowed by Cleveland in a regulation game — a mark that went unmatched since 1972.
It's a mess, and it's a mystery the way James and the Cavs have collapsed. They've slipped in the past, but this slide feels much more ominous than in the previous three years when Cleveland stumbled but still reached the Finals.
"This is kind of just my experience with this team, to be honest," said forward Kyle Korver, acquired last January in a trade. "The year that I've been here, we've been really good and we've been really bad. It seems to come in waves, so, hopefully there's a good wave coming soon."
With all that's wrong, changes would seem to be in order. Lue, though, believes the Cavs can solve their problems without any major alterations.
"It's the same group we won 18 out of 19 with also," he said, referring to Cleveland's stretch from Nov. 11 to Dec. 19. "We've just got to play better. We've got to play better, we've got to be sharper and that's what we continue to keep working on. It's the same team that won 18 out of 19 and 13 in a row."
Technically, Lue's right. The Cavs' roster hasn't been touched — not yet.
However, the club has been in almost continuous flux over the past month as key players Isaiah Thomas and Tristan Thompson returned from injuries. Also, reserves Jose Calderon, Channing Frye and Cedi Osman have seen their playing time diminish and Korver, the sharpshooter who had developed into the team's best crunch-time player other than James, has had his role reduced.
Lue has been searching for the right combinations, but the Cavs aren't connecting.
"We're just figuring out our team," Korver said. "Ty's got a tough job. He's trying to find lineups that are working and he's trying to find minutes for everybody. I think he's doing a great job in that regard, as far as getting everybody in the game. Maybe not Channing, we'd like to get Channing out there a little more but it's a numbers thing right now.
"It's tough. There's a numbers thing right now. Definitely I've been a part of that, too. It's a long season. We're riding a bad wave right now, but hopefully we'll find some things that will start working again. Guys are getting healthier but we need to get back in sync. There's no answers right now."
A demanding schedule and injuries have prevented the Cavs from practicing much, but they held their third workout this week. It was needed.
Lue, though, decided not to show his players film of the debacle against Oklahoma City.
"Just move on," he said.
Lue can't be absolved from blame, but players aren't faulting him for the team's many issues, some of which could be addressed before the Feb. 8 trade deadline.
Following Saturday's head-scratching loss, James said he "would hope not" when asked if he thought Lue would be fired. Dwyane Wade dismissed any outside noise condemning the only Cleveland coach to win a championship since 1964.
Those endorsements should help Lue, but he knows better than anyone how quickly change can come.
Two years ago, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert fired David Blatt despite the team's 30-11 record and replaced him with Lue, who at the time was the NBA's highest-paid assistant. Cleveland doesn't have a comparable situation now, and while there are no signs pointing to Lue being in imminent danger, anything is possible until the Cavs start stringing together some wins.
Lue can only do so much, and following similar comments by Thomas and Wade on Saturday, Korver said it's imperative for Cleveland's players to hold each other more accountable.
"You've just got to look at yourself in the mirror and say 'What can I do better?'" Korver said. "You can't point the finger. You can't get mad at a guy for not doing what you thought he should've done. You just can't point fingers. It's really simple but it really is true. … We're all grown-ups. When you're a mature grown up you just look yourself in the mirror."


text:
Beginergården i Hoogstraten i Belgien består av 36 hus, en beginerkyrka tillägnad Evangelisten Johannes samt en lada.

Historia
Beginergården i Hoogstraten grundades omkring 1380. På 1500-talet utsattes beginerna för flera bränder, bland annat skärtorsdagen 1506, då hela komplexet förutom kyrkan förstördes. 1534 blev gården omgiven av en stenmur. I början 1600-talet fanns två beginer. Deras antal steg till 160 i slutet av 1600-talet. 1972 lämnade den sista beginen, Johanna van den Wijngaard, beginergården.

1992 beslutade ett antal boende i Hoogstraten att restaurera gården. Sedan 1997 är beginergården återigen helt bebodd.

Referenser

Externa länkar
 Webbsida om beginergården

Flamländska beginergårdar

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
From a Newtown Literary contributor: Sara Cahill Marron
Writer Sara Cahill Marron's work was featured in issue #14 of Newtown Literary. We interviewed her about her writing and her answers are below. For more, check out her website, or follow her on Instagram @saracmarron, or Twitter @misswind_
The first thing that pops into my head as I write in another heat wave is the times I spent running around Jamaica High School in the dead July and August heat when the Sri Chinmoy runners were running the Self-Transcendence Race, which is the longest running race in the world, topping off at 3,100 miles. I typically would be heading out for a five-mile run, maximum, and I'd take a lap with these runners who had been up running since before dawn. It was inspiring. That, and the navel orange glow of the "F" train sign with its singsong "This is a Queens-bound train to 169th St" that meant I was going home.
Some other places that shaped my growth as a young woman in Queens color my reflections: the Bayside Diner off Northern Boulevard; American Martyrs Church on Bell Boulevard; the parking lot in Bay Terrace, Bayside; the intersection of Homelawn and 169th St; the square mile encapsulating Parsons, Union Turnpike, 164th St and the Grand Central Parkway containing a liquor store, a home, and a hospital that squared off an entire chapter of myself.
The people from my neighborhood in Jamaica, the first restaurant I waitressed at in Bayside, the coffee shop I worked at and got fired from after two terrible hours of the morning rush; the many interconnected highways it took for me to travel from work to home and back again (the Grand Central Parkway to the Clearview to Bayside, or the Grand Central Parkway to the LIE to the BQE to Brooklyn or beyond); and the sounds of people's lives.
I've been away from Queens now for two years, at law school, and my next manuscript was born from this borough. The stories that people told, inadvertently as a way of telling about their day, or directly as a way to entertain and pass an evening, became the poems and lines that wouldn't shake out of my head. There's a smokiness like burned cedar that comes to mind when I think of how I feel connected to that place, to those people. It doesn't make any sense or have root in anything real, but it's jostled free by the huge divot on Union Turnpike as I'm turning right to double-park at the Chase so I can get cash to pay my landlord the rent and the pizza shop across the street has its doors open and there are college kids laughing or screaming or who knows what and some cop car flicks its siren on, not for my pitiful job at double-parking, but screaming elsewhere toward some smoking story told down the road connected by a few highways, on the Island maybe, or down the block—might even be my house—I am so close to every stranger that the endless flow of traffic and steam and walkers and lookers doesn't feel foreign or unreal or bothersome; it feels like my blood, blue in the veins, and I close my eyes and let it flow through me.
I'm currently rereading Spring and All by William Carlos Williams, and it's heartbreaking. It's for a project I'm working on that's based on correspondence between me and a poet from Jackson Heights named Morty Sklar. Morty was my friend. He and I met on the F train many years ago, when I was a much worse writer than I am now. His emails to me, and our meetings, were about mentorship. He was a true teacher, and a true New York poet, although he never lost that wanderer spirit that once took him on a motorcycle ride through the middle parts of the country to Idaho.
Spring and All was one of his most frequently quoted books when he gave me feedback on my own work, and as I'm working on this manuscript, I'm taking Morty's transmitted advice via W.C.W. seriously: BE SPECIFIC. So I'm rereading, and rethinking about those days on the F train, picking my way through the 169th Street station so I might find the rare empty seat on the morning commute in the car that wasn't yet filled from commuters crammed in at 179th Street; being specific about setting, being specific about Queens, specific about writing, about connecting, and about what those things mean.
Some other books that are open on my table are Edgar Lee Master's Spoon River Anthology, Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood, and H.D.'s Trilogy. I also have this great book of daily Rilke poems that I read from each morning when I write. It's a lovely way to start the morning.
Research; learning something really specific and strange that I've never heard of before; new combinations of words; or new words in their entirety. I get bored easily when things become repetitive, which is much of daily living. Routine and aging is very repetitive, but that is peaceful in its own right. To create, and seek inspiration, all I need is to find something new. I don't even necessarily have to like it. Things I dislike are interesting to me, too. If it's foreign or new, there's something to discover there, as least for me. Creativity requires exploration.
In transit; most of my poetry is written on trains, lately. I dislike writing longhand while in motion, because my handwriting is already so abysmal that even I can't read it. I do a longhand writing practice in the morning of at least three pages every day. I keep a Google Doc for each year of drafts for transit poems; 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019—these documents are a mess and each are longer than book length, full of poetry. Much of the content has been published, after I pull out specific pieces and edit them, but they are always first drafts in that document.
I write in the transit document and harvest from it at different times. A poem written on the train at 7:30 a.m. doesn't get edited that same day. I try to let things brew for a few days, at least. That way, when I come back to them, I am different or the poem is different or the world is different—either way, something has changed and I'm able to take a scalpel to the fat and edit it properly.
From there, I pull the good stuff into a submissions document and start the active editing. I actively edit 3-8 poems for a few months and start submitting them once I feel they are clean. Other writers that I know sit on their work for much longer, tinkering and parsing it until it reaches that "perfection" place. I don't like that, it makes me crazy. I like to keep things moving, and when a piece feels clean enough, I send it out in the world to be rejected, or to find its mate in a journal. For me, submitting, rejections, and publication are all a part of the writing and editing process.
Writing happens as a kind of constant hum in the background of all things—so those transit docs often get opened and drafted in as a result of the following activities: I love opera and the Met. If I had more money, I'd attend more concerts at Carnegie. When I worked in Manhattan, I used to go to every free Friday at MoMA, and knew the rotating free days at other museums. I like to go to baseball games with my dad, and to drive to the beach. I run, and have run long races like the marathon. I like to eat healthfully, and cook foods in new ways. Cooking and learning about food inspires me. There is opportunity for art in so many things.
My second book, tentatively titled, Geographics, from which the poems published in Newtown Literary were selected, is currently in the circulation world of small presses, looking for the right home. So that project is "finished" or in final editing stage, for now. The manuscript that I'm actively writing and editing is tentatively called How to Be Specific. That's the manuscript based on correspondence between Morty and me. I'm excited about that one, about both Geographics and How to Be Specific, because they both push at form in different ways from the way my first book Reasons for the Long Tu'm did.
How to Be Specific uses the email format to deliver its poems and examines the wise love required to teach the youthful, and the delicate suggestions and patience exchanged from the older mentor to the younger mentee. The two figures in this book are writers living in Queens, riding the F train and arranging to meet at Union Square for lunch and coffees—but the story is about the transmission of knowledge, and how delicate the receiving of that knowledge can be, yet how integral it is that the mentor persist, that our teachers teach with love.
What should I have asked you that I didn't?
I suppose I could have answered this in the "what inspires you" section—but when reading just doesn't ignite any fresh ideas for poetry, I find that listening to either rap or opera is a great source of inspiration. Sometimes I alternate for best effects. My current favorites are Logic, Chance the Rapper, Lil Baby, Don Q, Meek Mill, Cardi B, Lucidious, and George Frideric Handel's Rinaldo (Act 1: "Cara sposa", Act 2: "Lascia ch'io pianga", "Una furtive lagrima"), Giovanni Battista's Stabat Mater, and Puccini's Tosca Act II: Vissi d'arte.
Thanks, Sara!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
SoulBounce's Class Of 1997: SWV 'Release Some Tension'
Debuting during the New Jack Swing era, SWV were no longer fresh voices in 1997. They shocked, awed and serenaded audiences with songs like the ode to oral pleasure, "Downtown," man-stealing anthems like "You're the One" and Quiet Storm staples like "Weak." Times had changed and the ladies were just trying to keep up. For their third album, Release Some Tension, they decided to change up the writers and producers who previously brought them hits, going for the biggest names of the day. They had experimented with breakout success with their first two albums but still kept the sound that made the ladies a household name. Release Some Tension took the girls even further out of their comfort zone, for better and for worse.
Songs like "Lose My Cool" featuring the grimy Redman and "Can We" featuring Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, originally a hit off of the Sprung soundtrack, were welcome surprises from the divas. Even the Timbaland and Missy copycat track "Come and Get Some" featuring E-40 wasn't unwelcome on the tracklist. However, a number of tracks followed the tried, true and, at this point, tired New York mafioso hip-hop sound. "Love Like This" featuring Lil Cease, which used the same beat as "Crush On You," and "Give It Up" featuring Lil Kim felt derivative instead of innovative. Lead singer Coko was even quoted as calling the Puff Daddy-produced "Someone," the first official loosie from the project, "a half-a**ed single." In truth, it did feel like a song that Mariah Carey passed on. And in fact, much of the album outside of a few tracks felt generic and could have been sung by anyone.
Despite featuring some of the biggest names in music at the time, Release Some Tension was not the monster album you'd expect. It sold a respectable half a million copies, but it didn't live up to the platinum success of A New Beginning or the multiplatinum success of their debut, It's About Time. Like many albums that were produced in 1997, it fell in line with what was popular without finding its own direction. That's not to say the album was without its charms. "Can We" was and always will be the jam, and "Rain" became one of their signature songs. It would be the trio's final album before their reunion album, I Miss Us, in 2012, which itself helped usher in a renaissance of the comeback albums by '90s groups.
SWV Release Some Tension [Amazon][iTunes][Google Play]
TAGS: audio, Class Of 1997, coko, e-40, lil cease, lil kim, mariah carey, missy elliot, puff daddy, redman, swv, timbaland
Previous: SoulBounce's Class Of 1997: Puff Daddy & The Family 'No Way Out' Next: SoulBounce's Class Of 1997: The Notorious B.I.G. 'Life After Death'


text:
These United States will release their new self-titled album on June 12, 2012, via United Interests. "These United States" is the band's fifth full-length LP since its 2008 debut, and features 12 new songs recorded with Duane Lundy (Jim James, Ben Sollee, Vandaveer) at Shangri-La studios in Lexington, KY; Andrew Gerhan (Sonny & the Sunsets, Adam Arcuragi, Spirit Family Reunion) at Translator Audio in Brooklyn, NY; and other studios and cities across the country.
Written and recorded throughout 2011, with 20 outside musical collaborators from coast to coast, the album serves as a culmination of bandleader Jesse Elliott's geographical aspirations. TUS played its 800th show in its 44th state during this year, and Elliott himself visited his 49th state (Hawaii) and wrote an album track for the one he has not yet reached (Alaska). Inspired by the incredible mix of stories and people across these places, along with the breathtaking landscapes of the nation, he returned to Kentucky and New York over several sessions to longtime TUS partners J. Tom Hnatow, Justin Craig, and Robby Cosenza, and new recruit Dave Wynn, to make sense -- and sound -- of it all.
The resulting "These United States" is a rambunctious melting pot of rock-and-roll, psych pop, folk balladry, and outlaw country, a concept album that acts as a panoramic snapshot of numerous American musical styles over the past century, but still looks forward to the weird new world at the completion of the Mayan calendar. It features contributions from John McCauley of Deer Tick, Michael Nau of Cotton Jones, Matthew Houck of Phosphorescent, Laura Burhenn of The Mynabirds, Ben Sollee, David Moore of Langhorne Slim, Josh Read of Revival, half the cast of Backwords, and the entire Frontier Ruckus band.
TUS will celebrate "These United States" with an April pre-release kickoff tour of the East Coast with Trampled by Turtles, followed by a June album release tour. For more information and upcoming tour dates, visit:
theseunitedstates.net +
facebook.com/theseunitedstates
Video by Lindsay Giles McWilliams:
lindsaymcwilliams.com
"Dead & Gone" by These United States
# vimeo.com/36804723 Uploaded 11 years ago 183 Views 1 Like 0 Comments
"These United States" -- the new album by These United States -- June 12th, 2012
from These United States
Nobody Can Tell -- These United States -- video by Sarah Law
Ever Make You Mine -- These United States -- video by Sarah Law
These United States: Summer 2010
from Lindsay Giles McWilliams
For Words: Jesse Elliott reads Henry Miller
from Todd Roeth
Lost Lands & Treasure Maps -- Episode 2: Made to Move
Lost Lands & Treasure Maps -- Episode 13: Our First Stadium Gig
Making What Lasts -- Episode 70: Life&Death Dawn&Tom
Save time: use your arrow keys
Created by These United States
44 Videos in 44 Days! Including such classic series as TUS' "Lost Lands & Treasure Maps," J. Tom Hnatow's "The Bicycle Diaries," and the multiple Tony-award-winning "Making What Lasts," a peek behind the curtain at the newest TUS album!
Browse This Channel
1 Moderator
Heads up: the shoutbox will be retiring soon. It's tired of working, and can't wait to relax. You can still send a message to the channel owner, though!
Related RSS Feeds
Channels are a simple, beautiful way to showcase and watch videos. Browse more Channels.


text:
Fernie Ghostriders
2017 Fernie Dining Guide
East Kootenay Health & Wellness Guide
East Kootenay Wedding Guide
Miners of the Elk Valley
Would 'tree canopy' bus shelters work? UBC students want to find out
Students want to build at least three shelters to measure their effectiveness
An artist's concept handout image shows the proposed shelters and their intended use. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Tabinda Shah)
Students at the University of British Columbia are hoping to build bus shelters with environmental benefits.
Tabinda Shah, a final-year urban forestry student, said she and several other students are working to build a "tree canopy bus shelter," which would not only shelter people from the rain as they wait for their ride, but also help the environment.
READ MORE: Okanagan wildfires have potential to become firestorms, says UBC expert
"The aim of the project is to bring ecologically conscious infrastructure into dense urban areas by maximizing opportunities for green infrastructure in small spaces," she said in an email.
The roof or shelter would be made of treated wood that can withstand the elements and host a layer of plants that are hardy and succulent, and can thrive in not just the rain but the dry months too. The excess water from the roof would run off into the ground to recharge the water table.
The students are crowdfunding the project and want to build at least three bus shelters to measure their effectiveness. Shah said each shelter costs about $50,000, and the team is hoping to have a prototype shelter built by sometime next year.
Daniel Roehr, associate professor at UBC, said while the team does not have any arrangement with the City of Vancouver or the transit agency, they do have permits to build three structures on the UBC campus.
Shah said Vancouver is a very walkable city, but that hardly anyone wants to walk in it during the winter because of a lack of pedestrian shelter from the rain.
"Being an urban forestry student, I wanted to bring a multifaceted solution to the table that would not only increase walkability in the city, but also create habitat space, more sustainable stormwater management and a biophilic city," she said.
Roehr said Vancouver has a number of green roofs but most of them need to be irrigated, so one of the main design aims of these tree canopy bus shelters was that they would be self-sufficient.
Roehr and Shah are working with a team of other students from different disciplines on the shelters.
"We have flow devices to measure rainwater runoff from these roofs and how effective they are," Roehr said. "We want to monitor it. And if it is effective we can use it all over the city — we could use it on all bus shelters."
Shah said this will be the first type of bus shelter to measure how much rainwater is runoff. She added that such bus shelters are important because they are one more step towards tackling climate change.
The prototype and research will help justify whether a larger investment into such an idea would be worth it, she said.
"We're hoping to have the prototype constructed along Wesbrook Mall at the University of British Columbia, but in an ideal world, we would want these all over the city street networks of Vancouver," Shah said.
7,000 hydro customers still in the dark nearly a week after B.C. storms
Police reunite lost B.C. dog with owners on Christmas
A philanthropic twist on Fernie's Australia Day festivities
Various local businesses hosted events and fundraisers for the Australian bushfires
The FSA Gumball Challenge back for round two
The snowmobile event will cover hundreds of acres of terrain
Fernie SAR responds to injured skier
Fernie Search and Rescue (SAR) was activated on January 27 after receiving… Continue reading
International Snow Science Workshop coming to Fernie
World leaders in the snow industry will be flocking to Fernie in… Continue reading
Teck donates land to Elkford Housing Society
The land donation ceremony took place on January 16
Explore The Free Press
Fernie News
Fernie Weather
Fernie Classifieds
© 2020, The Free Press and Black Press Group Ltd.


text:
Army Times says Rumsfeld should…
Army Times says Rumsfeld should resign
The independent Army Times newspaper, read widely in the U.S. military, on Monday suggested Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other top Pentagon civilian and military leaders should be removed over the Iraq prisoner abuse scandal.
"This was not just a failure of leadership at the local command level. This was a failure that ran straight to the top. Accountability here is essential — even if that means relieving top leaders from duty in a time of war," the private weekly newspaper said in an editorial.
"The entire affair is a failure of leadership from start to finish. From the moment they are captured, prisoners are hooded, shackled and isolated. The message to the troops: Anything goes.


text:
Leicester City FC video: The time when Stoke won promotion to the Premier League and Foxes were relegated
Damian Mannion
3rd May 2016, 11:20 am
It's not just the amazing turnaround from last season where Leicester narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship that makes their Premier League triumph so amazing.
No, this time eight years ago the Foxes were facing up to life in the third tier for the first time in their (then) 124-year history when they dropped into League One following a 0-0 draw with Stoke, who earned promotion to the Premier League at the same time.
How times change…
VIDEO: LEICESTER PLAYERS CELEBRATE WINNING THE LEAGUE AT JAMIE VARDY'S HOUSE


text:
82.0°, MOSTLY CLOUDY	Forecast
Dr. Kevin Mitts: Populism comes to Lenox
Downtown Lenox, as seen from the air on March 28, 2017.
Eagle File Photo
Posted Monday, April 29, 2019 5:00 pm
By Dr. Kevin Mitts
LENOX — "I've been here 33 years and I'm still a newcomer" my late friend Joe Cacciola told me as we weathered the storm to build the St. Ann Family Center in Lenox in the early 2000s. He was referring to town residents' opposition to the project, expressed with anger, accusation, and emotion. As a newcomer to town, that was my baptism to small town politics in Lenox.
Concerns then included loss of property value, lack of parking, traffic, late night parties and (gasp) bingo, as well the impact the project might have on the financial viability of the parish of St. Ann, perhaps even causing financial ruin. While all of those concerns were valid, listened to and addressed, the "spirit" of the discourse struck me: vitriol, frustration, and resentment for such a simple project as a family center.
The St. Ann Family Center was built and it has been a meeting place for the church and a valuable town resource. All is well in our tranquil town.
In 2006 my business sought a town permit for a "clinic" in the Aspenwell shops. We lost that issue and we are just fine for it. But the process again exposed fear. There was fear about a "clinic," zoning challenges, about harm to the healthcare system. The process was painful, and we nearly left Lenox. And 13 years later, such a "clinic" exists at that site, coexisting and competing, and Aspenwell thrives.
Along comes the Lenox Sawmill Affordable Housing Project. Full disclosure: I am not involved in affordable housing, but I make dinner for one who is: Marybeth Mitts is my spouse. I am no housing or finance expert, but she is: a Masters in Public Finance with work experience including the Senate Budget Committee, Fannie Mae, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of the Navy Office of the Comptroller Shipbuilding and Conversion, Deputy Comptroller of two Marines Corps Air Stations, private consultant for numerous southern California cities' affordable homeownership and rental housing programs; nine years on the Lenox School Committee; and several years on the Lenox Affordable Housing Trust and Committee. She clearly does not "lack expertise."
While no expert, I do recognize a fair process. And the process leading to the Sawmill project town vote on Thursday, May 2 has been very public, legal, and fair. Ample opportunity has been given for public discovery, and public comment. Further discussion will no doubt occur at the Lenox Town Meeting.. And, as Marybeth repeatedly tells me: "The town will decide."
ANYTHING BUT CIVIL
I can also recognize civil discourse. And while this process has been open and fair, the discourse has been anything but civil. Meetings have been remarkable for the public displays of intimidation, anger, intolerance, classism, and borderline racism. The tolerance,and encouragement of such behavior by residents, leaders, neighbors, and friends, is equally disappointing:
The Affordable Housing Selection Committee had a public hearing for selecting a final developer's bid. After public comment and prior to the selection vote a committee member was in opposition to any rental housing project at the Sawmill site, shouted down the chairwoman (Mitts), went on to accuse her of being disingenuous (lying), moved and voted to kill the project, and abstained in the selection vote, leaving only four voting members to choose the contractor.
Public hearings have been held by Mitts to allow the community to express their concerns and have their questions answered. Mitts has been repeatedly interrupted, treated rudely, shouted at, physically intimidated, and accused, again, of being disingenuous.
In overt displays of lack of compassion for town residents who might need financial assistance to live with their families Lenox, comments and occurrences at these hearings have included:
* The project will house "single mothers with children, and you know what kind of people they attract";
* "People from Springfield might move here";
* "They'll be walking on our neighborhood streets"
* "The schools are full"
* "We want responsible homeowners, not renters"
* "They can see in my windows"
Article Continues After These Ads
* If working class residents and outsiders would just save more for longer they could afford a house in Lenox;
* A local reporter was yelled at and needed to step back from an angry attendee when he asked for a name to quote earlier angry comments;
* The host of the site for one of the informational hearings was derided for hosting a hearing on an affordable housing project;
* Accusations that Committee members would "circumvent" the town to push the project through.
* The town will "fall into a trap of being sold a bill of goods."
On the other hand, valid residents' concerns have included:
* The need for more property taxpayers vs renters;
* Lenox's conveyance to the developer (a $600,000 town purchase in 2011 from Community Development funds, around half of which are state matched funds) amounts to a gift with no return to the town;
* Traffic density and school capacity;
* Will property values decline?;
* Will crime and the need for emergency services increase?;
* Will the development have adequate on-site resident management?
IGNORING OF FACTS
Such reasonable concerns have been repeatedly and completely addressed at the numerous public hearings. But attendees at one meeting may miss an issue presented at previous meetings and think specifics are being withheld, hidden, or missed. Opponents float hyperbole, bogus or misinformed facts and figures, and won't be bothered when confronted with factual responses but continue to repeat the same misinformation as fact. Sound familiar? The mistrust of our local politics may be a trickle down of the national political environment. But such anger and conspiratorial, accusatory nature is not fitting for politics in a town such as ours.
This project, like others in our town's history and those occurring in adjacent communities, is controversial because of the fear it elicits in townspeople. People fear their way of life is threatened. They fear they are losing something of value. And they fear change. And those fears are understandable. But such fears do not justify the methods.
A small town affords the opportunity for congenial discourse and interaction, on a public and personal level. In the case of Lenox's Sawmill project our town has often forgotten decorum, respect, and decency for those who donate their time, expertise, and emotion to, as the Lenox Affordable Housing Trust Charter states: "maintain housing for individuals and families of all ages and incomes in order to maintain (the town's) vitality as a vibrant, eclectic, connected and desirable community".
Like Joe, after only 18 years here I'm still a newcomer. I guess I just don't get it. But the town will, indeed, decide.
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.
Leonard Quart | Letter From New York: Photographers who were about the work
Podcast | Don Morrison: Go back where you came from
John Dickson: UK ambassador had Trump pegged
Anne Horrigan Geary: a photographer's dance with butterfly
DEA data: Berkshire County 3rd highest in state for per-person opioid prescriptions
Pets need special care during heat waves, group says
Steam bath: Caution advised as rare string of hot days reaches Berkshires


text:
Best of the Web:
20 Songs Where Rappers Got Outshined by Guests
Hottest Hip-Hop Wifeys
Saddest Songs
Hottest Rihanna Instagram Pictures
The Boombox
Beyonce Scores Racy GQ Magazine Cover Before Super Bowl XLVII
Trent Fitzgerald
Touchdown! That's all we can say when looking at Beyonce on the cover of GQ magazine's February issue.
Of course, the promotional blitz is in full swing for the R&B mom, who's planning to make an impact in 2013 with a Super Bowl halftime performance and new album.
The cover image, shot by famed photographer Terry Richardson, features Bey holding her golden locks while wearing a cut-off football jersey and a leopard-printed bikini with zippers. Her accessories include two gold chains -- a Cuban link necklace and a thin belly chain. 2 Chainz, eat your heart out.
The 'Love on Top' songbird is featured at the top of the list of GQ's "100 Sexiest Women of the 21st Century." Honestly, if she wasn't No. 1, who would be? One thing's for sure, motherhood has not prevented Bey from showing off her well-toned belly and some under-boobage. Somewhere, her hubby, Jay-Z, is saying to himself, "That's my BKC!"
Obviously, the timing is perfect for the former Destiny's Child frontwoman to grace the cover of the popular men's magazine. The publication's demographic will be tuned in to watch Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans on Feb. 3 and witness her perform during halftime.
Get ready world, the Beyonce takeover has begun! Her GQ cover hits newsstands nationwide Jan. 22.
What do you think of her GQ cover? Tell us in the comments below.
Next: Vote for Best R&B Female Artist of 2012 in TheDrop.fm Music Awards
See Beyonce's Racy GQ Magazine Cover
Watch Beyonce's 'Run the World (Girls)' Video
Filed Under: Beyonce
Categories: Magazine Covers, News, R&B
Carbon Blogroll
Two Colorado Police Officers Not Charged for Fatal Mall Shooting
Happy Birthday, Drake!
Happy Birthday, Russell Simmons!
Happy Birthday, India.Arie!
2021 TheDrop.fm, Townsquare Media, Inc. All rights reserved.


text:
Main Page	Board index Video Games General
All the way through?
General and high profile video game topics.
Retrology
Re: All the way through?
Postby Retrology » March 24th, 2020, 1:02 pm
Attempting to 100% all of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, something I've never done before. I only have two skaters left to accomplish this with: Elizabeth Streamer and Jamie Thomas (the original leap of faith skateboarder!). I love how going 100% with a skateboarder allows you to unlock cheats such as perfect balance so that you'll never fall when grinding on a rail or doing a manual, as well as a cheat that lets you have full stats from the start (making unlocking everything else way easier).
So yeah, technically since I got 100% of the missions completed I beat the game all the way through. I just have to do it for two more skateboarders. It actually doesn't take as long as you'd think, about 45-60 minutes from my experience, but that's because I'm pretty good at the game.
velcrozombie
Postby velcrozombie » March 24th, 2020, 1:12 pm
Finished Castlevania: Bloodlines (originally for the Sega Genesis/Megadrive, played here on The Castlevania Anniversary Collection for the PS4) using John Morris (the traditional whip-wielding character). Short, fast, straightforward action game with memorable bosses and setpieces (especially regarding destructible environments). Makes a nice compliment to Super Castlevania IV (a game that I've grown to appreciate more over time). Started a second playthrough with Eric Lecarde (the spear-wielding character) and immediately found the game twice as difficult, so I'm going to have to roll up my sleeves for this one.
Postby bluenote » March 25th, 2020, 9:14 pm
Just beat paper Mario colour splash on wii u. Whew, long game! Probably 30 hours or so, which for me took me 4 months or so. Also, had to resort to a guide. Too many times it was unclear what card you need to beat a boss and even more to difficult to backtrack to find that particular card!
Glad I'm done , now playing some nes games (Batman and arkanoid) as a palette cleanser!
Ozzybear
Postby Ozzybear » March 25th, 2020, 10:14 pm
Just finished The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing 3 on ps4 , im gonna have to revisit part 2 as I don't remember finishing it. But what a fun series!
nesfan
Postby nesfan » April 5th, 2020, 11:03 am
I just beat Dragon Quest XI on PS4. And made sure to snag the platinum trophy along the way. I did every little thing you can do in this game and spent a lot of time with it. Like 200 hours. And I chose to put in that time because the game was so incredible. The story, characters, and most importantly, gameplay were all on point. I'm not a stickler for graphics but even I had to stop what I was doing every now and then and just soak in the environment around me. The game was just beautiful. Square Enix announced from the beginning that this game would be a return to form for the series and they nailed it! (Almost. Still wish it had random encounters.) They've proven they can still do it with Dragon Quest. Now if they'd just give Final Fantasy the same treatment...
TheEagleXIII
Joined: December 22nd, 2019, 9:33 am
Postby TheEagleXIII » April 7th, 2020, 3:55 pm
Since Christmas I've been mostly on a PS1 binge - revisiting old games I never completed or checking out and completing (not 100%) absolute classics I missed out on. So far I've checked off my list:
Crash Bandicoot 1, 2 & 3
Spyro 1
Syphon Filter 2 & 3
THPS 1 & 2
Syphon Filter 3 is the most recent one I've just completed and it's easily the weakest of the original trilogy.
Despite it's reputation, Final Fantasy VII was actually a pleasant surprise. I've been wanting to give RPGs more of a chance and check out FF7 for ages, just to see how it could possibly ever be considered one of the greatest games of all time - not just on PS1. It's not that I doubted it... I just didn't understand how a game with the gameplay mechanics of the genre could be that good. Totally converted me, and opened up my eyes to some of the merits of RPGs, even if it is the peak of the mountain.
Postby Ozzybear » April 10th, 2020, 3:59 am
Just finished Shadow of the Tomb Raider on Ps4.
while I didn't care for the setting as much in this game as
I did the others.
It was still great none the less !
Postby nesfan » April 12th, 2020, 10:57 pm
I just beat Sonic Mania Plus (Switch) as Sonic. This game was really cool but kind of disappointing in the sense that it could have used more original levels. It had some and they were great but it reused a lot of levels from other Sonic games. It made up for that with some really fun boss fights, though.
Retro STrife
Postby Retro STrife » April 14th, 2020, 12:32 am
TheEagleXIII wrote: Since Christmas I've been mostly on a PS1 binge - revisiting old games I never completed or checking out and completing (not 100%) absolute classics I missed out on. So far I've checked off my list:
Nice going Eagle - that list reads like a "Who's Who" of must-play PS1 games. I played each of those series back in the PS1 days. Crash Bandicoot 3 was the first game I owned for my PS1; great game and it remained my favorite in the series even after playing Crash 1 & 2 (I think 2 was the weakest). Never was a big Spyro fan, but still it's a solid platformer. Great memories playing the first Syphon Filter - that was an impressive series when it started out on PS1, but I'd be surprised if a third-person shooter like that still holds up today (how was it?). Played the hell out of the THPS series, loved THPS 1-4 (2 and 3 were my favorites), lots of good times with siblings spent playing those.
And naturally Final Fantasy VII is one of my all time favorites. Like you, I had heard all the statements that it no longer holds up these days. Well, after going about 20 years without playing it, I finally revisited it a year or so ago. And like you, I found that it is still an excellent game. If you ask me the biggest factor in FF7's enduring success - I think it's undoubtedly the characters. The cast of characters (especially Cloud and Aerith) is probably the best of any RPG ever, and arguably the best of any game ever. The characters and story hold up as classics today, even if the gameplay is becoming dated. IMO the lifelong connection that gamers developed with those characters in the '90s is why the FF7 universe still remains popular today, despite being 20 years old and having no real sequels.
Have you played Metal Gear Solid? If you haven't, I highly recommend that for your next PS1 game. I think, viewed objectively, Metal Gear Solid is the best PS1 game. And it still holds up great today. I played it a few years ago, and was shocked it still played so well. As I played it, I kept thinking "Man, this could be released as a new game today and still be considered great." Fun gameplay, great story, and the best cutscenes of its time. Worth playing for sure.
newmodelarmy
Postby newmodelarmy » April 14th, 2020, 7:19 am
nesfan wrote: I just beat Dragon Quest XI on PS4. And made sure to snag the platinum trophy along the way. I did every little thing you can do in this game and spent a lot of time with it. Like 200 hours. And I chose to put in that time because the game was so incredible. The story, characters, and most importantly, gameplay were all on point. I'm not a stickler for graphics but even I had to stop what I was doing every now and then and just soak in the environment around me. The game was just beautiful. Square Enix announced from the beginning that this game would be a return to form for the series and they nailed it! (Almost. Still wish it had random encounters.) They've proven they can still do it with Dragon Quest. Now if they'd just give Final Fantasy the same treatment...
I played this game and got near the end. However, I ran out of patience. The save points started to get few and far between and the ending battles dragged on forever! It is a good game although I never bothered with the side quests as I thought they were incredibly dull. I put about 50 hours into or so and that was enough for me. Glad you liked it and milked it for all it was worth.
Return to "Video Games General"


text:
The Political Class: At War with Each Other and on the Rest of Us
January 13, 2021 January 13, 2021 Thomas L. Knapp
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible," President John F. Kennedy said in a 1962 speech, "will make violent revolution inevitable."
Nearly 60 years later, two warring groups within the American political class seem resolutely determined to make "peaceful revolution" — by which JFK seems to have meant orderly democratic decision-making — impossible.
Supporters of Donald Trump rejected the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and, with his active if deniably worded encouragement, rioted in a tantrum intended to overturn that election's results.
Trump's opponents immediately and predictably responded with calls for a reign of terror to suppress "sedition." US Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS) asked the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to add Trump supporters who have yet to be convicted of (or, in many cases, even charged with) any crime to the unconstitutional "no-fly list." Newly elected US Representative Cori Bush (D-MO) filed a resolution calling for the expulsion from Congress of members who objected (as House rules allow) to certification of the election results.
Big Tech promptly swung into action in support of the latter side. The two largest social media platforms, Twitter and Facebook, banned Team Trump's major voices and vowed to block or delete posts that call Team Pelosi's line into question. Google, Apple, and Amazon colluded to take another social media platform, Parler, offline with the obvious purpose of denying Team Trump's supporters any venue for expressing wrongthink.
If you're looking for good guys, you won't find them on either side of this fight. It's a fight between two factions of the political class, with Big Tech trying to appease and co-opt one of those two factions. It's neither a revolution nor a fight for freedom. It's just a schoolyard brawl over which gang gets to rule. The interests of ordinary Americans aren't represented.
But ordinary Americans do seem to be rallying in great numbers to one side or the other. Whoever said "there's a sucker born every minute" was low-balling it. The political class is well practiced at duping most of us into thinking we have skin in their power games.
That's a big problem. Peaceful revolution, which would require an orderly dissolution, or at least devolution, of the US government, isn't on the table. Neither major political class gang is willing to allow it on the table, because it would deprive them of power.
Fortunately, you can't fool all of the people all of the time. Sooner or later, sufficient numbers will wise up, rise up, and put an end to this nonsense.
The Trump base, as personified by the DC rioters, is hardly an unstoppable force. But neither are its opponents an immovable object. The fates of Louis XVI, Nicholas II, and Nicolae Ceausescu are the alternative to peaceful revolution.
This dust-up is only one front in a larger war: A war by both gangs upon the rest of us. A war for power. A war for control. Neither gang will ultimately win that war. Their choice is whether to lose peaceably or violently.
Libertarian Advocacy Journalismaction, america, class, constitution, control, crime, evolution, government, history, libertarian, lying, media, order, peace, reading, rules, security, trump, war
Written by Thomas L. Knapp
Tom has worked in journalism — sometimes as an amateur, sometimes professionally — for more than 35 years and has been a full-time libertarian writer, editor, and publisher since 2000. He's the former managing editor of the Henry Hazlitt Foundation, the publisher of Rational Review News Digest (2003-present), former media coordinator and senior news analyst at the Center for a Stateless Society (2009-2015) and also works at Antiwar.com. He lives in north central Florida.
Earth Isn't Flat and Government Isn't Good
Apartheid Israel, Facebook Italy Fine, Seizing Sammiches, & Pakistan Blasphemy Executions (32m) – Episode 453
"Sooner or later, sufficient numbers will wise up, rise up, and put an end to this nonsense."
Highly doubtful. At the very least, highly debateable. I'm still waiting — but not holding my breath.


Many players consider the 000 14-fret guitar to be the ideal body size. With its relatively wide lower bout and shallow depth it gives the most tone and volume in an easy-handling package. Blueridge Contemporary Series guitars feature tops of select, solid spruce with parabolic, forward X-bracing. A popular new option is the cutaway model with on-board electronics by Fishman.


As we start to fight the stigma that is related to mental health issues, more and more celebrities are coming out to share their personal stories. Statistics show about a quarter of the population will suffer from some sort of mental health issue, so it's no surprise some of our favourite stars have experienced depression, addiction, and eating disorders. In the June 27 issue of The Hollywood Reporter Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson opens up about the times he's dealt with depression and what he did to get better. This list also includes famous actors, musicians, and comedians.


text:
Q: Constrained $L^2([0,1],\mathbb{R})$ space The space $L^2([0,1],\mathbb{R})$ admits an orthonormal basis:
$1, \sqrt{2} cos(2\pi n x), \sqrt{2} sin(2\pi n x), \quad n= 1,2,...$
What happens to $L^2([0,1],\mathbb{R})$ if we add a constrain, say $u(x)=0 , x \in [0,\epsilon]$ for every function $u \in L^2([0,1],\mathbb{R})$, with $\epsilon$ a small positive number?
Clearly the above trigonometric basis, can not be a basis for the new constrained space. So what is a new basis for this space ? Is the a rigorous way to determine the new basis of the constrained space ?
Also, it is clear that the dimensionality of the space is still infinite. But the space has changed, so is there any notion that can capture this change ?
Thanks a lot

A: Disclaimer: This is in response to your comment and not an answer to the edited but rather the original question. In fact I am not yet sure about the answer to that. Nevertheless, I hope this is helpful to you.
Recall the construction of the Lebesgue space: $$ L^2([0, 1]) = \mathcal{L}^2([0,1]) / N $$where $\mathcal{L}^2([0,1])$ is the space of all square-integrable functions $f: [0,1] \to \mathbb{R}$ and $N=\{f=0 \, \text{a. e.}\}$. This means that elements in $L^2$ are equivalence classes of functions and thus, two functions are called equal if they differ only on a set of measure zero. In other words, assigning a value at a certain point is not something that's "interesting" or meaningful. You can do this if you really want to but it doesn't change much; say you want the set of all $[u] \in L^2([0,1])$ with $u(0)=0$ (where we identify $u$ as an $\mathcal{L}^2$-function and $[u]$ as the corresponding equivalence class). Then clearly this is a subset of $L^2([0,1])$. On the other hand we can realise this by choosing a representative for every $[u] \in L^2([0,1])$ such that $u(0)=0$, giving us the other subset relation. Hence they are equal and you can choose the same basis (by choosing appropriate equivalence class representatives that you need).

A: One orthonormal basis of the subspace $M$ where $u=u\chi_{(\epsilon,1]}$ consists of functions that vanish on $[0,\epsilon]$ and equal the following on $(\epsilon,1]$:
$$
       c_n(x)=C_n\cos(2n\pi (x-\epsilon)/(1-\epsilon)),\;\; n\ge 0, \\
       s_n(x)=D_n\sin(2n\pi (x-\epsilon)/(1-\epsilon)),\;\; n \ge 1.
$$
The constants $C_n,D_n$ are chosen so that $\|c_n\|=1$ and $\|d_n\|=1$.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


After a long time away from the gaming spotlight, Sony Bend has finally revealed the title they have been working on and it's the post-apocalyptic Days Gone. Sony debuted the trailer and gameplay footage during for Days Gone during its E3 2016 Press Conference. There's plenty of Last of Us influence in the game but ..


Just why is it that we seem so rushed to cut corners in software development, what are the long-term implications, and how can we move past emergency-driven-development? Matt Heusser interviews Chris Sterling, author of Managing Software Debt, to discuss the use of the debt metaphor for software, along with other ways to look at the problem that lead to more healthy outcomes.
He has been a consultant, Agile coach and certified Scrum trainer and is currently the vice president of engineering at AgileEVM.com and a partner at Sterling Barton, a hi-tech and management consultancy. Yet, I am most interested in Chris Sterling as the author of Managing Software Debt.
Part programmer, part Dave Ramsey, and part motivational speaker, Chris uses the book as an opportunity to talk about how software deals with change over time, and the long-term consequences of short-term "short cuts." From allowing bugs to failing to build test automation to short-sighted design—not to mention just ugly code—Chris's book includes a litany of poor choices combined with some alternatives.
I took the opportunity to ask the man himself a few questions: Just what is this debt metaphor, how we can introduce it into an organization, and use it to communicate? Most importantly, how can we use the "Software Debt" metaphor to create lasting change?
Matt Heusser: I suspect all our readers are familiar with investments and debt, and most of us are involved in creating software. Can you tell us how these ideas combine to make "software debt"? What exactly do you mean?
Chris Sterling: Sure. As software development team members, it is quite probable that we have all been guilty of writing code that is not perfect, not automating that test so we can just get it "done," or checked in code before it was tested well. Technical debt, a term coined on the c2.com wiki by Ward Cunningham, was used to describe these shortcuts that we take to seemingly finish faster but that will have downstream consequences. The relationship between these shortcuts and financial debt stems from the idea that we are extending ourselves and our software now but will have to pay it back plus interest later. When we make the choice to use shortcuts, it does cost us more to "fix" them later than it would have to build them without the shortcuts most of the time.
My reason for making these other types of software debt explicit is that it allows teams to be more focused in their efforts to identify and clean it up. Also, I have found that these types of software debt all have different ways to monitor and manage them from tools, process, and people perspectives.
Matt: Now that we understand the metaphor, can you tell me how to take advantage of it —what I should do differently or how can I use it to make a difference on my projects?
Chris: When working with teams and technical leadership in companies, I have found that there are some basic principles that they can work towards to start managing and reigning in their software debt. First and foremost, maintain one list of work. In software organizations it is common to find at least three lists of work that teams and team members are pulling work from. Usually there is a list of features, a bug database, and a list of technology improvement items from someone in technical leadership. Team members now have to figure out which list to pull from and are making a decision on behalf of the business about what is most important to work on. This reduces focus and leads to all 3 lists being neglected somewhat by either delivering features late, deciding not to fix severe defects, or not making necessary infrastructure and development enhancements that lead to more issues down the line. By getting all of these work streams into one list of work we are able to help make holistic priority decisions to best benefit the business rather than micro-decisions at too granular a level in the organization.
On top of maintaining one list of work, there are some technical things that we can do to help keep software debt manageable. Emphasize quality from the start. Make assertions about what will be delivered from a quality point of view that includes all aspects of the software development life cycle. This will enhance the accountability of team members to their quality objectives. Next, evolving your tools and infrastructure frequently keeps teams up-to-date with new tools and capabilities and reduces the effects of decay in the infrastructure. Make software design a part of every days activities rather than something we do at the start of a project. Keeping whiteboards handy and close collaboration amongst team members and across teams helps remove some of the obstacles to getting on the same page around software designs.
This all leads to an aspect of software development that should not be forgotten, and that is tending to people that involved in developing software. Software development is a knowledge worker-inhabited environment. We must ensure that knowledge is moved around our organizations organically and intentionally. The ways that our team members and teams are aligned in our organization from product and project focus to where they sit can have an impact on the software delivered. Architectures and duplication can be profoundly affected by the organizational structure and therefore we should pay attention to this and find ways to support intra and inter team communication patterns.
Matt: Let's say we have one list of work. That still leaves the poor "product owner"—probably a non-technical person who has ownership of the team (or worse, a committee!) to decide what to fix—bugs, features, or infrastructure. How do they decide? How do we help them decide?
Chris: Product Owners in Scrum and other roles in additional methods supporting agile values and principles cannot make all of the priority decisions in a vacuum. In fact, the development team themselves, technical management, and project stakeholders can all help to manage the single list of work. This, of course, is not easy to do and can lead to unhealthy conflict, working around the decision-makers, and ultimately dissent. If the technical and project stakeholders are able to resolve conflict in a healthy way to create the single list of work, the single voice will provide an ability for the team to focus and go beyond deciding what to do next to how they can do it well. Building integrity into software as we go is difficult enough. Having to do this while juggling project priorities with multiple stakeholders makes building integrity in near impossible.
Beyond this explanation about why we should make the effort to maintain one list of work, there are some tools that I discuss in the book that can help. First, teams can define what their quality criteria by creating a Definition of Done. This is a subjective definition of the team's definition of quality for all deliverables, some of which can be turned into more objective measurements and trending data to identify when the team is not meeting their asserted quality levels. Also, teams can turn some of their technical requirements into narrative so that folks who are not technical will understand their value. In the book, one way to do this is to create "abuse stories," which I learned from a session that Mike Cohn did on user stories at Agile 2006, where we describe the value of technical requirements based on the cost of not addressing them. For instance, instead of a requirement described as, "Add security to user credit card transactions," we can write, "As a Malicious Hacker, I want to gain access to credit card information so that I can make fraudulent charges." The details of this abuse story will describe how we will stop the malicious hacker from accessing credit card information in our application. Abuse stories tend to be easier for less-technical folks to understand the value of software quality attributes that aren't easily identified through a user interface. One more way that teams can help is to define which software quality attributes should be a focus from the technical perspective of a particular application under development and also understand which attributes the project stakeholders are most interested in. From this, both perspectives can be discussed and a small amount of software quality attributes, rather than every potential type of quality, can be integrated and focused on during development.
Matt: Are you familiar with the "feature beast"—the idea that the technical team needs to crank out features in order to make sales? Thus, even if bugs and improvements are on the list, they get ignored. Over time, at least in my experience, this tends to lead to a large number of open bugs and slowly decreasing system response time/performance. Have you seen teams "break the back" of this feature beast? If yes, how did they do it?
Chris: I have not heard of "feature beast" to describe the focus on features to a point of disregarding bugs and improvements, but I have seen this occur on a frequent basis when working with teams and organizations. In fact, I have been on a team that had to overcome such a "feature beast" mentality in code that we inherited during a professional services engagement. The codebase we inherited was 1 million lines of code, 16 SQL Server databases, 15 programming languages, and absolutely no tests, not even manual test cases. In order to emerge from the software debt that accrued in this codebase before we even started touching it, we used many of the practices and concepts discussed in Michael Feathers' book, Working Effectively with Legacy Code. During that particular project we even created an open source tool called StoryTestIQ (http://storytestiq.sourceforge.net) that allowed us to create a safety net of regression tests through the user interface and web services API, which eventually enabled us to get the "beast" back under control. We ended up delivering an amazing amount of features on top of this seemingly untamable beast of code within a few months using the techniques we found in the book and through our own practice of good application stewardship.
My book, Managing Software Debt, does not go into detail about how to start your way back out of the software debt hole of a "feature beast" mentality. It does, however, discuss the tools, processes, and practices that can be used to get an understanding of the software debt, create a strategy for paying it back in a practical way, and put in infrastructure that will provide early indicators of the reemergence of software debt into application deliverables. In that particular project, we used automated acceptance testing, continuous integration, push-button release, and much more of the topics discussed in the book to get the application platform back into a state we could deliver successfully on top of it.
Matt: I can see how talking in these terms can be helpful, but what's the next step—how do we measure this software debt thing?
Chris: Teams and organizations that I work with all start at different points. Some find that adopting an Agile software development approach starts to work on the collaboration and integration aspects of software debt. Others might find that continuous integration will help build integrity into software earlier and also enhance communication. In an environment with extreme legacy code, techniques such as those found in Michael Feathers' book, Working Effectively with Legacy Code, could be a first step. And there are many more potential starting points depending upon what your issues are.
The first step that I usually take with a team is running an exercise to generate a list of software debt that includes all five types. Then we take a step back and look for groupings of items that are seemingly related. Then we decide which areas are most important to work on and make a prioritized list of work to begin working to reduce the software debt while still maintaining current delivery milestones.
For teams that are looking to identify how much software debt they currently have and find out when they are adding software debt accidentally, I have been advising the use of static code analysis tools such as Sonar (http://www.sonarsource.org/) to identify areas of exposure. It is great to be able to drill down into the duplication numbers and find actual lines of code identified in specific files, and then figure out a strategy to pull this code out into a single location. When going to work on a new feature, it is great to do some quick research about the area of code you are going into and see if there are any opportunities to refactor duplication and complexity. If anybody reading this has not checked out Sonar go right now...oh...I mean after you read the rest of this interview.
Matt: Tell us a little bit about your work on AgileEVM, and how you think portfolio management can fit into the mix to help create "software debt relief" (for lack of a better term).
Chris: One of my passions is the idea that software development will be thought about less as a cost of doing business and more of an investment that businesses use to add value to their bottom lines. While working with enterprises and their adoption of agile approaches to delivering software, Brent Barton, my partner in crime at AgileEVM.com , continued to run into an issue. Teams that were adopting agile methods were reporting their progress based on abstract ideas such as points and velocity. Although these were quite helpful to teams in tracking their own progress, it was difficult for the business to compare these for strategic planning efforts.
It just so happens that Brent had written an IEEE paper with Tamara Sulaiman and Thomas Blackburn that was published in 2006 about the "Agile EVM" method, which showed traditional Earned Value methods that business was used to using for project reporting and assessment could be used with Scrum. Brent, being a mathematics geek, had written the mathematical proof that supported this claim in the paper. At first we thought this was just a nice contribution to those organizations that needed to produce Earned Value reporting while adopting an agile approach to their software delivery. But over time we started to notice that this was an essential piece for solving the gap between the adaptive planning techniques of teams adopting agile software development approaches and the needs for business to discuss progress and strategic plans using dollars and dates.
http://www.agileEVM.com now gives teams using agile methods the ability to manage up to their business counterparts with dollars and dates using the Agile EVM method along with additional release, project, product, program, and project portfolio rollup calculation engine features. The tool has gone beyond what Agile EVM, as a method, does for tracking release progress to providing a project portfolio dashboard that incorporates impediment management, assertion of quality criteria for each release (aka Definition of Done as described earlier), what if analysis, printable reports, and enterprise integration capabilities. We are excited and passionate about helping the business take advantage of what agility has to offer beyond a single project.
Matt: I know you spent awhile teaching at the University of Washington in their certificate program. Can you tell us a bit about that? It seemed more rigorous than some other technical certificates.
Chris: I had a great time helping shape the original curriculum for the University of Washington's Agile Developer certificate program. I worked with many other folks in the local Agile community putting together the certificate, which takes about a year to earn through three courses. Those courses start with Scrum, go into XP technical practices, and then (the portion that I taught) Advanced Topics in Agile Software Development. For the Scrum and XP portions there is specific focus on the use of these methods from theory into practice. The advanced topics portion allowed me to venture wherever the class wanted to go. From user stories to Kanban to working with legacy code to innovation games and more we were able to decide what would help the participants round out their capabilities with Agile methods. What I liked about the courses was that we could get real feedback from participants that were also working in the real world about how they were able to adopt specific capabilities at work. We would provide a learning environment to introduce and practice capabilities outside of their work, and then they would take those capabilities into the workspace, and return with specific questions to share with the class.
Just so you know. I am a Certified Scrum Trainer with the Scrum Alliance. I find that the introductory courses, Certified ScrumMaster and Certified Scrum Product Owner, can be helpful to those getting started. We have found that people come away with real ways to implement Scrum and have success when I meet with them later or decide not to take it all on yet because of their environment. Both are potentially good outcomes after a two-day course. I find it helpful to tell the participants that they are not going to be masters of Scrum once they sit through a two-day course; rather they will know what is not Scrum once the class is completed. Also, I hope that even if they do not implement Scrum they take away aspects of it and new capabilities to help make their work life a bit better, including a primer on Managing Software Debt with techniques and tools that can help Scrum teams make the transition to iterative and incremental development.
Chris: Please check out our blog at gettingagile.com; it has over 100 articles on topics from software debt to agile software development to architecture and more. We have had this blog since 2005 and continue to provide our thoughts on a frequent basis. You can contact me via email at chris@agileevm.com to discuss software debt, agile software development, hiring me, or get some time with me to help you get started with Agile EVM.


text:
Appellate Court to Hear School Choice Case: Opponents Appeal Ruling Upholding Corporate Tax Credit Scholarships
J. Justin Wilson · September 15, 2008
Phoenix—Phoenix-Arizona's Court of Appeals will hear arguments this Wednesday, September 17, at 11:30 a.m. to determine the fate of nearly 2,000 Arizona schoolchildren relying on scholarships funded by the state's corporate tax credit scholarship program. Arguments in Green v. Garriott will be heard in Courtroom 2, before Department E of the Arizona Court of Appeals at 1501 West Washington in Phoenix.
In March 2007, the Maricopa County Superior Court threw out a legal challenge to the program, ruling that corporate tax credit scholarships are consistent with the Arizona Constitution and no different than individual tax credit scholarships upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court nearly a decade ago in Kotterman v. Killian. School choice opponents appealed the decision.
"The Arizona Constitution and Arizona law are crystal clear: scholarship tax credits are constitutional," said Tim Keller, executive director of the Institute for Justice Arizona Chapter, which represents Arizona parents and Arizona School Choice Trust, a non-profit organization that grants scholarships to low-income families. Keller will defend the program in court on Wednesday. "This is an utterly baseless lawsuit, and its only goal is to stop parents from sending their children to schools that work for them."
Passed in 2006, Arizona's corporate tax credit scholarship program encourages private companies to donate to non-profit funds that provide scholarships to low- and moderate-income families to attend private schools. Companies receive a tax credit for their donations. The program is currently capped at $14.4 million. In 2007, funds donated to scholarship organizations enabled 1,947 students to attend 156 private schools.
"The scholarship is truly a blessing," said Laquesha Tejada, whose six-year-old son Ishmael attends Millennium Worldwide Academy, a private school in South Phoenix, thanks to a scholarship from Arizona School Choice Trust. "I was lost before we got the scholarship, and I thought I would have to tell Ishmael he couldn't go to MWA. He loves going to school there and is excited to do his homework. He's learning so much, it's incredible. There's no other school I would have my son in."
In addition to individual tax credit scholarships, Arizona has a well-established history of offering tax credits to promote social welfare, including more than two-dozen programs that offer incentives for resource conservation, economic investment and charitable contributions.
"Opponents of school choice are asking the courts to unravel years of precedent and practice to halt a policy they don't like," concluded Keller. "As our state's highest court has already ruled, school choice programs benefit parents and children by extending the promise of a quality education. Opponents' groundless legal claims should not be allowed to block educational opportunities."
Visit www.ij.org/schoolchoice/az_taxcredits3 for complete background on the case.


I was so relieved to be a person again when I got to Millbrook that I started to disconnect from my research. I've been in grad school long enough to understand that this is not uncommon. For many students, it becomes a kind of drudgery as new and compelling options present themselves in the professional world. Wouldn't it be nice to take a vacation, you think as you stare out the window wondering how you're going to balance your finances for an extra semester. Wouldn't it be nice to watch a TV show, or take a nap, or go on a hike and not feel guilty about it. It all kind of bubbles together and you're left with a blanket statement, wouldn't it be nice to be done with this paper?
But it's more than that. Because you know that you shouldn't be doing those things, so you set your phone aside and ignore the people checking up on you. You isolate yourself in an attempt to focus and simply can't. You recognize the lack of control you have over your own life which forces you to examine yourself in the mirror and subconsciously compare to other moments where you've lacked control — exhausting yourself, your memories.
It's more commonly known as burnout, and it's quickly catching up to me again. It's extremely common among grad students. It's crawling back. I can't hide it. The place I'm living for the summer has simply become the place that I live. And after an exhausting thesis meeting I find myself reckoning with my age. 26 is not old by any stretch of the imagination. But I find myself confused and disappointed that certain things are still a stretch. I thought by 26 I'd at least be able to afford a one-bedroom dog-friendly apartment. Nothing against where I'm living now — it's nice, it's safe, and the land is beautiful — but I'm frustrated and disappointed by a lack of such a basic level of control; what I was initially able to laugh off now haunts me.
Again, this is common. And I need to keep reminding myself to reassure myself that it's okay; that I made choices; that I dedicated myself to this path and I knew this would happen.
That said — the fact that it is so common; that science and academia seem to lack such little cultural and societal value that thousands of people in their mid and late-20s and even their 30s find themselves in this position is disheartening. (Please don't make me cite this. I really don't want to. I cite a lot of things. Google exists.) How can we change it? Can we change it? The academic model is so competitive that I doubt it's possible.
And that alone makes me wonder what, exactly, do I want for myself? I want the title "Doctor" more than most other people could possibly imagine. I'm sure I've written on this before – half of it will probably annoy some people — I hate that women are referred to by their marital status — but the other half isn't just that. I want to be a leader in the wildlife community. I want my words to matter. I don't want to just be a technician forever.
But part of me looks back at the 18-year-old version of myself and wonders if maybe she was onto something with all of her different ideas. Music, writing, art, theatre, culture. Would I have found a better headspace pursuing one of these? My guess is not; all of the things I'm interested in are wickedly competitive. We're only here for a minute, anyway. Might as well pursue the one that gives you the most inner peace.
I started going to the library instead of trying to work behind closed doors in my tiny room. It helps a bit. You see, actually being present at a college campus does not necessarily create a community. The pressures are different there. You often get lumped together with undergrads and find yourself perpetually 22. But I like the public library so far because it is different; lots of people with lots of different ages. It's quiet. Maybe this can be a new start to creating balance.
You decided to go into science. What other choice do you have?
Nevertheless, she persisted, I guess.


text:
The Tyranny of Freedom
by Grant Miller, on Politics, April 2013
In 1779, Thomas Jefferson penned the following words:
[N]o man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.
Twelve years later, a more simplified sentiment found its way into the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment states, among other things, that citizens of this country are protected from the passage of laws that respect an "establishment of religion."
Having grown up with a conservative family, I am well aware of the rebuttals and arguments. "Someone has to decide what the laws are!" "How will we have moral laws if not directed by Moral Law (re: the Bible)?" "This country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles!" However, one has only to look at the 1796 treaty with Tripoli, crafted under Washington's presidency and signed into law by Adams to see the status of our country's founding. The treaty clearly states, "...the government of the United States is not in any sense (emphasis added) founded on the Christian religion..." Yet today, one has only to turn on any cable news channel to hear incendiary rhetoric, cloaked in distorted religious piety, being spewed at the American masses.
Last May, a "pastor" in North Carolina declared, "I figured a way to get rid of all the lesbians and queers, but couldn't get it passed the Congress...[put them in a fence] and have that fence electrified so they can't get out. Feed 'em...In a few years they'll die out [because] they can't reproduce...It makes me puking sick...Can you imagine kissing some man?" A similar sentiment is winding its way rapidly through the Kansas legislature, although this chilling effort is much more far-reaching in its implications: elements within the Kansas legislature want anyone who has been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS to "have their movements restricted," in effect, quarantining entire swaths of the population.
In the same breath that espouses the heritage of our nation and its history of freedom, politicians such as Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, and Rick Perry will infer religious liberty--while claiming that their version of religious liberty must dictate law and that it must come explicitly from their understanding of morality and the universe. This misleading mentality is seen throughout the leadership structure and frames of the religious right's arguments: "We believe in religious freedom and liberty, but it must be our interpretation as such that rules this land." In fact, this sentiment is so strong in North Carolina that lawmakers are pushing for the establishment of a state religion while at the same time, the Attorney General of Virginia (who is currently running for governor) is pursuing the reinstatement of sodomy laws for the state.
This is the great danger of the religious right's politics: speaking the language of freedom, these individuals seek to impose their belief system on hundreds of millions of people (or as Jefferson feared, "enlarging their civil capacities"). Exclusionary right to religious freedom is granted to "Judeo-Christian" values in the eyes of these individuals. To make matters worse, a faulty interpretation and understanding of the Bible places many of these individuals in dangerous territory when it comes to science, environmentalism, international policy, and social policy.
In 2007, Pew Research conducted a survey of Republican voters and found 37% of all Republican voters are white evangelicals, but make up 55% of Republican voters on social issues. To more fully understand the implications of these numbers, it is important to note the fact that 89% of the Republican base is ethnically Caucasian. Combined with an overwhelmingly white base--over a third of it evangelical--a structure for the imposition of views is highly skewed towards a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant mentality.
With cries of persecution and marginalization rising from this demographic, I find it nearly impossible to take these claims seriously. True religious freedom allows diverse expressions to be celebrated--not shunned or ridiculed. Exercising religious freedom allows us schools that are free from intervention and indoctrination, public spaces that welcome all, and an atmosphere of tolerance and acceptance that would otherwise be squelched in the neo-fascistic endeavors of some on the religious right.
The cultural diversity of the United States is rapidly expanding and will continue to do so, bringing with it fresh expressions of art, religion, and civic practice. These things should not be squelched in an agenda aimed at moral domination and subjugation, but at developing a deeper sense of community and a greater understanding of the phrase, E Pluribus Unum--"Out of many, One." As civic discourse continues in our public squares, it will be crucial to develop our understanding and enactment of tolerance and acceptance. Even so, we walk a fine line; we must ask ourselves, "At what cost will we tolerate intolerance?"
Conservatives are quick to crow, "You claim tolerance but where is your tolerance for those who are [opposed to your position]?" Let me clearly state that intolerance based on religious preference has no place in the liberal state. "Freedom of speech" allows everyone to say their piece, yes. However, in the space of civic discourse, ignorance masked as piety and bigotry cloaked as purity and faithfulness are repugnant. One does not have to look very far into the past to see this dualistic mentality of the "persecuted crusader": slavery, interracial marriage, the Equal Rights Amendment, the AIDS epidemic, marriage equality... our history is replete with such shameful episodes.
We are a thriving, beautiful, and diverse population. Seeking to impose one's own understanding of the universe on millions of others is not only hubristic, it is damaging. The worst part about what is being attempted by the religious right, joined with the political right, is the fact that it is a thinly veiled exercise in white privilege. As such, when it is challenged, cries of discrimination and a call to arms to "Take America Back!" are issued. No. Those days are gone. In the place of white fear may we build a society that cherishes our differences & creates space for expression and freedom without fear of recrimination--a place, as Jefferson wrote, where "all [people] are free."
Grant Miller


text:
Spectroscopic Nulling Imaging Elipsometer nanofilm_ep3se
Manufacturer: Accurion GmbH
Optical ellipsometry is a non-destructive technique for investigation of surfaces, interfaces and thin films. It probes modifications of the polarization state of optical beam reflected from the sample. Imaging ellipsometer uses microscopic objectives to reduce the size of investigated surface region to the micrometer range. Our ellipsometer uses objectives with extra-long working distance, which provides measurements on surfaces of macroscopic objects. The magnified image of the sample is visualised in reflected light, which propagates through a set of selected polarization sensitive optical elements. The resulting "polarization filtered" image is detected by CCD camera with variable shutter timings and gain control. The system provides ellipsometric analysis with the lateral resolution of 1 μm. This allows the user to perform measurements on microstructured samples. Several regions of interest can be analysed at the same time.
Optical illumination of the sample takes place via monochromatic radiation (spectrally filtered light from Xenon Arc lamp with the bandwidth of 6 – 12 nm) with tuneable wavelength in the range from 365 nm (UV) to 1600 nm (NIR). Extension to the NIR region is a speciality of our system that makes it very suitable for investigations of semiconductor materials. Laser light source at λ = 658 nm can also be used for illumination and polarization analysis. One of the operation modes based on laser illumination is Brewster angle microscopy (BAM), which provides imaging of ultra-thin films and surface layers (molecular monolayers). In particular Lagmuir films on water surface and Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films on solid substrates can be studied.
The system includes motorized computer controlled goniometer that provides tuning of incidence angle of optical beam in the range from 38 to 90 deg with angular resolution of 0.001 deg. The software enables automatic nulling and mapping procedures, image processing and data analysis by use of different thin film models.
Responsible person: prof. dr. Irena Drevenšek Olenik, +386 (0)1 477 3647, irena.drevensek@ijs.si
Equipment location: Laboratory in building B, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova c. 39, 1000 Ljubljana
Requested level of experience: use of the elipsometer is allowed for qualified operators only
Equipment reservation: you are obliged to use reservation system
Equipment accessibility: from Monday to Friday between 8 a.m and 4 p.m., or else in preceding accordance with the person in charge.


FREDERICK, Md. - The Gallaudet University baseball team dropped a pair of non-conference games here Sunday afternoon as they took on Hood College. The Bison lost 11-7 in the first game and were shut out, 8-0, in the second game on the Frederick Community College field.
After falling behind, 3-1 in the first inning, Gallaudet's bats heated up in the second inning and scored six runs to take the lead from the Blazers. The Bison had six hits in the second inning, including three doubles. Freshman Austin Sliva-Wynne (Richmond, Texas) had a two-run double to highlight the frame. Four consecutive Bison batters recorded RBI off Hood starting pitcher Dylan Johnson before he was pulled in favor of Chris Devine (1-0).
The Blazers responded with three runs in the bottom of the second inning off of senior starting pitcher Ian Evans (Murphy, N.C.). Josh Greenberg had a two-run single up the middle to complete the three-run frame.
GU clung to its one-run lead as the teams went into the bottom of the fifth inning.
The Blazers' first two batters walked and moved around the bases due to wild pitches and a run scored off a failed pickoff attempt. Outfielder Cam Esposito doubled home the go-ahead run, 8-7, to give Hood its first lead since the first inning.
The Bison were retired in order in the sixth before the Blazers added three insurance runs in the bottom half to go up 11-7.
Evans lasted 3.2 innings where he allowed six runs on six hits, walked eight and struck out two. Junior Dylan Hayes (Endicott, N.Y.) took the loss as she surrendered five runs (four earned) on five hits and four walks in 1.1 innings of relief.
Hood took a quick 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning off Gallaudet starting pitcher Frank Diaz (Far Rockaway, N.Y.).
The Blazers (11-14) scored at least a run in every inning but two. Gallaudet (5-21) recorded its first hit in the fourth inning when sophomore shortstop Cameron Upton (Vicksburg, Miss.) singled up the middle. The hit broke up Brad Sawyer's (2-0) no-hit bid.
Senior middle infielder Blake Phillips (Dalton, Ga.) singled down the right field line in the fifth inning to tally the second Bison hit of the game.
Diaz (0-2) threw a complete game as he took the loss. He allowed eight runs (four earned) on 10 hits, walked two and struck out four.
GU returns home for three games later this week. The Bison will entertain Penn St.-Harrisburg (11-20) on Friday, April 14, at 3:30 p.m. for a nine-inning non-conference game. Gallaudet will then host Lancaster Bible College for a North Eastern Athletic Conference doubleheader on Saturday, April 15, at 1 p.m.


text:
Geoffrey K. See
Bringing North Korea to the World Economic Forum
Our colleague Geoffrey See was recently nominated to join the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader's community.
One hundred and twenty seven of the world's most promising social activists, business leaders, public servants, artists and technologists under the age of 40 have been invited to join the World Economic Forum's community of Young Global Leaders. They are pushing boundaries, achieving firsts, and breaking traditional rules to improve the world.
The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a diverse community of leaders from all walks of life and from every region of the world. Current members lead governments and Fortune 500 companies, hold Nobel Prizes and Academy Awards, and have become UN Goodwill Ambassadors and Social Entrepreneurs. The community aims to bring together individuals with different skill sets from exciting fields to shape an inclusive and sustainable future for the world.
For us, this is an opportunity to raise the global issue of North Korea at the World Economic Forum, and to encourage individuals from that community to contribute their ideas, voices and actions to the long, difficult and continuing challenge on the Korean Peninsula. We expect the period ahead to continue to be difficult so long as the US and DPRK are unable to reconcile their differences. And post-reconciliation, there will be the difficult task of integrating and developing this country to ensure stability. Read Geoffrey's call here on the World Economic Forum's blog for more direct people-to-people exchange between individuals outside and inside North Korea.
But after more than a decade in which we have taken close to 200 volunteers to North Korea to train more than 2,000 North Korean researchers, policymakers, entrepreneurs and businesspeople, I have found a country that - as difficult as it is to work with - is full of individuals with aspirations, ambition, entrepreneurship and ideas. Strange as it might be to some, many of the Koreans we interact with - elite or otherwise - debate and disagree on policies; they want their countrymen, families and children to live better lives; and they hope to travel. It is not a monolithic country. People we teach in one department, company or province have different ideas about what reforms are needed to better the economy, or how their country should interact with the world.
Newer PostVolunteer Report: "Experience Of A Lifetime"
Older PostBuilding an Entrepreneurial City: Urban Research on Pyongyang
with CE News!


text:
Home > Books & Publications > Books by Title A-Z >
Asoka The King and the Man
By: Kiran Kumar Thaplyal
Author: Kiran Kumar Thaplyal
Description About the author Contents
The present volume comprising 11 Chapters deals variously with political and economic background and sources; classification and features of edicts; early life and family; conquests and extent of empire; administration; faith in Buddhism; dhamma; religious harmony; society and religions; monuments; and estimate of Asoka. Of five Appendices, the last one deals with the latest discovered Asokan inscription, brought to light by the author.
Some points may be highlighted. If Taxila Aramaic inscription was engraved during Asokas viceroyalty, then Priyadarsi, occurring in it, was not his coronation name. The first five lines of the Panguraria inscription do not refer to Asoka as viceroy on pleasure tour. Identifications and status of Asokas queens suggested by scholars are rejected, and alternate suggestions offered. The views that Asoka allowed the slaughter of two peacocks and one deer because he was fond of their meat, or because their meat was offered to family deity, have been countered. It is argued with evidence that Chandragupta, and not Bindusara, married a Greek princess. Asoka ruthlessly attacked Kalinga, as in the war of succession, its king had sided with his rival. Asoka has been criticized for granting merely three days for making appeal against death sentence, its review, judgment on the review and conveying the same to the petitioner. The circumstances of the presence of the Separate Rock Edicts at Sannati have been critically examined. Literary and epigraphic evidences show that elephant in Asokan art symbolises Buddha, and so the view that the Dhauli elephant represents Asoka is not correct. Asokas statement that as a lay Buddhist, after association with samgha, by exerting much he made people extremely pious, clearly shows that the dhamma he propagated was Buddhism, and leaves no scope for debate about it. The work contains copious citations from Asokan inscriptions and 24 Plates.
Professor Kiran Kumar Thaplyal (b. 1936), after obtaining first class first Masters degree in Ancient Indian History and Archaeology (1957, Lucknow University), served Archaeological Survey of India (1957-60), and later Lucknow University (1960-96) as Lecturer, Reader, Professor and Head of the Department of Ancient Indian History and Archaeology, Dean, Faculty of Arts, and Emeritus Professor. Epigraphy was one of the subjects he taught to the post-graduate students.
He is recipient of several Scholarships, Fellowships and gold medals including one for the best Ph.D. thesis. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Vikram University, Ujjain; Kurukshetra University; and Hindu University, Varanasi; a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla; and a member of Central Advisory Board for Archaeology (Govt. of India). He has been honoured with Brahmi award for his contributions to Indolgy. In 2007, Lucknow University felicitated him for his contribution to knowledge and development. The Numismatic Society of India elected him its General President (2007), and awarded him the Altekar Medal (2010). In 2007, his students and friends brought out a Felicitation Volume in his honour.
He has published more than 100 research papers, and edited Jaina Vidya and Select Battles in Indian History (2 vols.). The books authored by him include Studies in Ancient Indian Seals; Inscriptions of the Maukharis, Later Guptas, Puspabhutis and Yasovarman of Kanauj; Sindhu Sabhyata (jointly); Jaina Paintings; Guilds in Ancient India; Coins of Ancient India (jointly); Village and Village Life in Ancient India; and The Imperial Guptas-A Political History.
Acknowledgements xv
List of Illustrations xix
Roman Equivalents of Devanagari Letters xxi
2. Classification of the Edicts and Their Salient Features 15
3. Personal Life and Family 45
4. Conquest and Extent of Empire 80
5. Administration 102
6. Asoka as a Buddhist 147
7. The Dhamma of Asoka 187
8. Asokas Prescription for Sectarian Harmony 212
9. Aspects of Religion and Society as Gleaned from Asokan Inscriptions 225
10. Monuments 243
11. Estimate 265
Appendix I: Alphabetical List of the Find-spots of Asokan Edicts 275
Appendix II: Date of Asoka 283
Appendix III: Chronology of Asokan Edicts and Events of His Reign Based on Them 287
Books & Publications > Books by Subject > Books on History of Buddhism