The Handbook of the Sociology of Education in the 21st Century, edited by Dr. Barbara Schneider and associate edited by Dr. Guan Saw, assistant professor in the UTSA Department of Educational Psychology, has recently been published internationally.
Current UTSA graduate students, as well as practicing professionals, are now able to develop skills in program evaluation through a new graduate certificate program in the COEHD's Department of Educational Psychology.
Researchers from the COEHD, the College of Business, and the UTSA Office of Institutional Effectiveness recently published a study that examined the factors that predict retention, persistence, and academic success among UTSA undergraduate students.
Students and faculty from across the College of Education and Human Development shared their ongoing research projects at the 8th annual College Research Colloquium on Thursday, Oct. 4.


Home › Forums › Success Stories/Lessons Learned › Lessons Learned From Our Chapter Meeting – Great Action Ideas!
1. Due to a recent 18 year old committing suicide, don't make assumptions. Talk with your son or daughter about it so that hopefully they never consider that an option.
2. For "date nights" with your kids, try taking them to a bookstore and allow them to explore books. You can also take them to the pet store to simply look at the different pets. Whichever son or daughter you take, have him/her choose a simple gift to bring back to their brothers or sisters.
3. If you're ever teaching a lesson in church or in front of a group, record and file those lessons. Your kids may come back and listen to them someday!
4. Try turning off electronics after 7:30 p.m. to have exclusive and focused one-on-one time with each child.
5. Have at least a special date night or one-on-one activity with each child each month. No lecturing! Just a fun activity to listen and talk.
There are a few of the lessons learned we took from that lunch meeting. Hopefully they are helpful to you!


text:
package serialization_test

import (
	"encoding/json"

	"github.com/cloudfoundry-incubator/receptor"
	"github.com/cloudfoundry-incubator/receptor/serialization"
	"github.com/cloudfoundry-incubator/runtime-schema/models"

	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo"
	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
)

var _ = Describe("DesiredLRP Serialization", func() {
	var routes map[string]*json.RawMessage
	var routingInfo receptor.RoutingInfo

	BeforeEach(func() {
		raw := json.RawMessage([]byte(`[{"port":1,"hostnames":["route-1","route-2"]}]`))
		routes = map[string]*json.RawMessage{
			"cf-router": &raw,
		}
		routingInfo = receptor.RoutingInfo(routes)
	})

	Describe("DesiredLRPFromRequest", func() {
		var request receptor.DesiredLRPCreateRequest
		var desiredLRP models.DesiredLRP
		var securityRule models.SecurityGroupRule

		BeforeEach(func() {
			securityRule = models.SecurityGroupRule{
				Protocol:     "tcp",
				Destinations: []string{"0.0.0.0/0"},
				PortRange: &models.PortRange{
					Start: 1,
					End:   1024,
				},
			}
			request = receptor.DesiredLRPCreateRequest{
				ProcessGuid: "the-process-guid",
				Domain:      "the-domain",
				RootFS:      "the-rootfs",
				Annotation:  "foo",
				Instances:   1,
				Ports:       []uint16{2345, 6789},
				Action: &models.RunAction{
					Path: "the-path",
				},
				StartTimeout: 4,
				Privileged:   true,
				LogGuid:      "log-guid-0",
				LogSource:    "log-source-name-0",
				MetricsGuid:  "metrics-guid-0",
				EgressRules: []models.SecurityGroupRule{
					securityRule,
				},
				Routes: routingInfo,
			}
		})
		JustBeforeEach(func() {
			desiredLRP = serialization.DesiredLRPFromRequest(request)
		})

		It("translates the request into a DesiredLRP model, preserving attributes", func() {
			Ω(desiredLRP.ProcessGuid).Should(Equal("the-process-guid"))
			Ω(desiredLRP.Domain).Should(Equal("the-domain"))
			Ω(desiredLRP.RootFS).Should(Equal("the-rootfs"))
			Ω(desiredLRP.Annotation).Should(Equal("foo"))
			Ω(desiredLRP.StartTimeout).Should(Equal(uint(4)))
			Ω(desiredLRP.Ports).Should(HaveLen(2))
			Ω(desiredLRP.Ports[0]).Should(Equal(uint16(2345)))
			Ω(desiredLRP.Ports[1]).Should(Equal(uint16(6789)))
			Ω(desiredLRP.Privileged).Should(BeTrue())
			Ω(desiredLRP.EgressRules).Should(HaveLen(1))
			Ω(desiredLRP.EgressRules[0].Protocol).Should(Equal(securityRule.Protocol))
			Ω(desiredLRP.EgressRules[0].PortRange).Should(Equal(securityRule.PortRange))
			Ω(desiredLRP.EgressRules[0].Destinations).Should(Equal(securityRule.Destinations))
			Ω(desiredLRP.Routes).Should(HaveLen(1))
			Ω(desiredLRP.LogGuid).Should(Equal("log-guid-0"))
			Ω(desiredLRP.LogSource).Should(Equal("log-source-name-0"))
			Ω(desiredLRP.MetricsGuid).Should(Equal("metrics-guid-0"))
			Ω([]byte(*desiredLRP.Routes["cf-router"])).Should(MatchJSON(`[{"port": 1,"hostnames": ["route-1", "route-2"]}]`))
		})
	})

	Describe("DesiredLRPToResponse", func() {
		var desiredLRP models.DesiredLRP
		var securityRule models.SecurityGroupRule

		BeforeEach(func() {
			securityRule = models.SecurityGroupRule{
				Protocol:     "tcp",
				Destinations: []string{"0.0.0.0/0"},
				Ports:        []uint16{80, 443},
				Log:          true,
			}

			desiredLRP = models.DesiredLRP{
				ProcessGuid: "process-guid-0",
				Domain:      "domain-0",
				RootFS:      "root-fs-0",
				Instances:   127,
				EnvironmentVariables: []models.EnvironmentVariable{
					{Name: "ENV_VAR_NAME", Value: "value"},
				},
				Action:       &models.RunAction{Path: "/bin/true"},
				StartTimeout: 4,
				DiskMB:       126,
				MemoryMB:     1234,
				CPUWeight:    192,
				Privileged:   true,
				Ports: []uint16{
					456,
				},
				Routes:      routes,
				LogGuid:     "log-guid-0",
				LogSource:   "log-source-name-0",
				MetricsGuid: "metrics-guid-0",
				Annotation:  "annotation-0",
				EgressRules: []models.SecurityGroupRule{
					securityRule,
				},
				ModificationTag: models.ModificationTag{
					Epoch: "some-epoch",
					Index: 50,
				},
			}
		})

		It("serializes all the fields", func() {
			expectedResponse := receptor.DesiredLRPResponse{
				ProcessGuid: "process-guid-0",
				Domain:      "domain-0",
				RootFS:      "root-fs-0",
				Instances:   127,
				EnvironmentVariables: []receptor.EnvironmentVariable{
					{Name: "ENV_VAR_NAME", Value: "value"},
				},
				Action:       &models.RunAction{Path: "/bin/true"},
				StartTimeout: 4,
				DiskMB:       126,
				MemoryMB:     1234,
				CPUWeight:    192,
				Privileged:   true,
				Ports: []uint16{
					456,
				},
				Routes:      routingInfo,
				LogGuid:     "log-guid-0",
				LogSource:   "log-source-name-0",
				MetricsGuid: "metrics-guid-0",
				Annotation:  "annotation-0",
				EgressRules: []models.SecurityGroupRule{
					securityRule,
				},
				ModificationTag: receptor.ModificationTag{
					Epoch: "some-epoch",
					Index: 50,
				},
			}

			actualResponse := serialization.DesiredLRPToResponse(desiredLRP)
			Ω(actualResponse).Should(Equal(expectedResponse))
		})
	})
})

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Věra Jourová, European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality.
Dangerous toys, electrical machines, clothes or cars – in 2018, member states' authorities sent 2,257 alerts concerning non-food products threatening the health or security of consumers.
Thanks to the rapid alert system (RAPEX) put in place by the EU, it was possible to take action in thirty-one countries. These range from warnings on labels to a recalling of the products in question.
At European level, alerts mainly concerned toys and motor vehicles. The system allowed for the withdrawal from the market of 'slime', a coloured elastic paste, the ingestion or prolonged contact with which may harm children's health by damaging their reproductive system.
The risks are divided across several categories, the most common being the risk of injury and chemical hazard, which is the case for 'slime'.
Digital threats are also to be taken into account. This is why children's digital watches with security loopholes have been removed from the market as Irish authorities were effortlessly able to localise all watch-holders, listen to their conversations, talk to them, etc.
Interestingly, the predominant risks vary greatly from one country to another. As an example, alerts from Belgium exclusively concern toys. But in Ireland, cosmetic and chemical products pose bigger problems (48% and 19% of the alerts launched). In Denmark, pyrotechnic products accounted for 20% of the alerts. The French ones mainly were for toys (34%), motor vehicles (23%) and jewellery (10%).
Thomas Berbach from the French General Directorate for Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) confirmed that. "We did tests and we discovered that 74% of costume jewellery sold on online platforms posed a chemical risk." This jewellery contains elements such as lead or nickel, which are dangerous in case of prolonged contact.
The platforms were informed. Those that are cooperating with the directorate are sending the necessary information to the purchasers of products as they know exactly who they are. For others, it is more complicated. "They do not respond to us at all or say they will send emails but do not do so," said the French official.
For well-established chains, there is generally no problem. Sometimes, they implemented the necessary measures when we visited them, explained Thomas Berbach.
Online platforms are the biggest problem. Legislation on the issue is rather loose, and because many EU member states defend the interests of large digital companies, there is little that can be done. According to Berbach, things won't change unless there is a major scandal or visible deaths.
The rapid alert system RAPEX allows sharing information on potentially dangerous non-food products between all countries from the European economic area (28 EU member states + Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein).
The system relies on national authorities that send information to a centralised system and reactions to alerts sent by other countries. Alerts introduced in the system are automatically translated in 25 languages to ensure measures are taken as quickly as possible.
But even though the system works well, sellers and consumers do not always react to RAPEX alerts. A third of consumers who know they possess a potentially dangerous product do not stop using it. And more than a third do not know that products can be recalled, according to an EU Commission survey, which highlighted the need to strengthen communication with sellers and the wider public.
To improve the visibility of company actions, the Commission has also put in place an annual prize for the most responsible companies. This year, the prize focuses on online vendors and suppliers of kids' toys.
Fewer dangerous goods are finding their way onto EU shelves, Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner John Dalli said yesterday (12 May), presenting the European Commission's annual report on product safety in Brussels. But consumer groups disagreed and said more effort was needed to improve market surveillance.
For Věra Jourová, European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, the priority is to better collaborate with Chinese authorities. The proportion of defect products coming from China has reduced since the beginning of her mandate, she said. However, more needs to be done to ensure better cooperation.
The Commissioner envisioned that Chinese authorities facilitate the identification of the manufacturers of dangerous products so that they can be informed of European norms.
At a press conference on 5 April in Bucharest, she stressed that this will be a topic she will continue to defend, particularly during her upcoming meeting with representatives of the Chinese government on 16 April.
The Commissioner also congratulated the Council of the EU for approving the legislative package on consumer rights, on which the European Parliament still has to vote before the end of the month. This package includes, for instance, additional protections for online purchases, notably between private individuals on platforms such as Amazon.
Jourová was particularly pleased that the proposed texts also address the issue of products of lower quality from members of eastern Europe.
Since the start of her mandate, she has criticised the fact that branded products are being sold with the same name but with diverging qualities for Western and Eastern EU countries. Such practices should be banned and punished in the future.
The European Commission announced on Wednesday (11 April) it would prohibit dual quality food across the bloc, following complaints and pressure from Central and Eastern European (CEE) member states.


Thus, students thinking about applying to PhD programs in economics would be well advised to have "Plan B's" for every stage of the journey—including the possibility of not being accepted into a PhD program, the possibility of not completing the program, the possibility of not finding a suit able academic job, and the possibility of not receiving tenure. We hasten to add that there are many rewarding and worthwhile nonresearch and nonacademic career paths open to those who obtain masters or doctorate degrees in economics, and many students discover, either while in graduate school or during their untenured years, that they actually prefer these sorts of jobs to the academic life.
Economics PhD programs are primarily designed to produce research economists. There is little or no focus on training students to suit the needs of business or industry (Siegfried and Stock 1999). Our experience suggests that most students, especially at the better programs, enter graduate school planning to seek academic jobs, or at any rate, jobs that require research. We would also argue that students have a more-or-less common preference ordering over departments. In general, a student admitted to MIT or Princeton is unlikely to choose to go to Duke or Ohio State instead.
Teaching is not even mentioned in the first sentence. And, Duke and Ohio State? Burn!
However, at lesser departments, there is always a debate about whether it is better to hire lower-ranked graduates from top-ranked departments of economics, or the best graduates from lower-ranked departments. Our conclusion is that it is indeed worthwhile for lower-ranked schools to look outside the top-ranked departments for new hires, though only at the top students of such programs in general.
Some of us at "much lesser" departments have known about this for a long time. I'm most interested in the PhD program ranked #31 - all other PhD programs. The data (available at the link above) contain 7396 of these graduates and 59% (n=4356) do not have any publications** after 6 years. Of those with at least one publication, 82% have published less than two papers in second tier field journals (this is my definition of "research active" and my cutoff is 0.195). If you were at a much lesser department and trying to find a research active faculty member in the job market, there were only about 36 of these on the supply side of the market each year. I wonder if this is any different in in 2014?
Incredibly, one 1991 graduate had 4.55 AER-equivalents in his/her first six years. Twelve others had two or more.
And going back to that line from the intro. The major activity of most PhD economists is teaching. Given these results it seems that PhD programs at departments 1-31 should spend a bit more time training teachers or, at least, paying it some lip service.
*Source: Conley, John P., and Ali Sina Onder. 2014. "The Research Productivity of New PhDs in Economics: The Surprisingly High Non-success of the Successful." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 28(3): 205-16.
We start with a census of 14,299 economics PhD recipients from 154 academic institutions in the US and Canada who graduated between 1986 and 2000 compiled by the American Economic Association (AEA) and connect this to an EconLit database with 368,672 papers published between 1985 and 2006 in 1,113 peer-reviewed journals (including conference volumes to the extent that these are captured in EconLit).


text:
"Get on your broomstick and go home!"
Hillary Clinton, the woman conservatives love to hate, takes her suddenly close campaign into its final days.
By Anthony York
November 3, 2000 6:01AM (UTC)
It's 5 p.m. and the swatch of sidewalk outside Hillary Rodham Clinton's Seventh Avenue headquarters is overflowing with human traffic. Blocking its path are a set of police barricades, behind which stand 50 or so protesters with megaphones and cardboard signs that read "Vote for the mensch, not the wench" and "Hillary + Hamas," perhaps a successful result of attempts by the New York Republican Party to link Clinton to the Palestinian terrorist organization.
"Get on your broomstick and go home," screeches a voice over the loudspeaker, crackling from excitement and overuse, its followers cheering on.
The protest serves as a reminder that, lest anyone forget, no name attracts more right-wing wrath than the name of Clinton.
It is this hatred that Hillary Clinton seems to feed on. On the stump, her opponents' hatred of her is the chief issue of her campaign. Lazio and the Republicans attack her, she says, while offering no plans or vision for the future of the state or the country. Candidate Clinton -- much like another Clinton before her -- seems to use that hatred as a source of strength, in a masterful move of political judo.
"I don't take any of this personally," Clinton says, speaking to a small group of mostly Jewish voters in the Bronx neighborhood of Riverdale Monday night. It's the Hillary Clinton who people learned to cheer only after scandal broke, the one who kept a stiff upper lip. The woman who, Tammy Wynette swipes in 1992 notwithstanding, overcame ruthless public embarrassment to stand by her man -- and stand up to congressional Republicans who hounded the Clintons. Her public approval ratings peaked when impeachment was at its apex. An August 1998 ABC News poll showed Clinton with a 71 percent national approval rating, a dramatic jump from a January '96 CNN poll that had her approval at only 49 percent.
It's that woman she's trying to sell to New Yorkers, and part of her strategy to preserve this winning air of righteousness has been to regularly invoke the names of her husband's chief adversaries. At this event, she brings up House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas -- impeachment impresario and perpetual thorn in the president's side -- when she describes how both were honored by a group for their involvement with foster-care reform.
"It was probably very painful for him to stand up and talk about how we worked together," she laughs, before stiffening that upper lip. "But I understand that what they say for public consumption is for political purposes." It's these same "political purposes," after all, that she tries as often as possible to link to her opponent, Rep. Rick Lazio. ("He was part of the Gingrich Republican leadership that voted to shut the government down, that voted for large tax cuts and large spending cuts that would have devastated education and healthcare," she tells a group of students at Fordham University.)
Lazio's chief attack strategy is also to invoke the past -- namely, Clinton's husband, even raising the Monica Lewinsky scandal as an issue in their first debate. She has tried to deflect this by criticizing not only Lazio but an ominous-sounding "they" -- presumably the same "they" behind the "vast right-wing conspiracy."
That's fairly appropriate, since this race will be viewed largely as a referendum on Hillary. Lazio is almost an afterthought: Both candidates have worked to make this a choice between the good Hillary and the bad Hillary.
And right now, voters seem increasingly uncertain which it is. Vice President Al Gore runs comfortably ahead of Gov. George W. Bush in presidential polls here, but Clinton maintains just a narrow lead in most statewide polls. A recent Quinnipiac College poll shows her lead shrinking to three points, 47-44 down from a 50-43 lead earlier in the month, and well within the margin of error.
That makes every minute remaining in the campaign vital. And it just keeps getting uglier.
For someone not used to seeing her campaign, there is something almost surreal about watching Hillary Clinton work a room. On Monday in Riverdale, the room is small, the curtains heavy and drawn shut, and it is an uncomfortably hot 80 degrees as people pick through plates of poached salmon. There is no particular buzz in the air, no driving energy. The first lady drones on, regurgitating her canned stump speech, visibly run-down after a long day on the campaign trail. It is astonishingly ordinary.
When Clinton announced her candidacy, it was easy to imagine the race being anything but ordinary. Reporters delighted in the potential slugfest between Clinton and New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. But when Giuliani withdrew from the race in May after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, Republicans quickly rallied behind Lazio, who was largely unknown to New York voters.
Quickly, Clinton pulled ahead, and has remained the front-runner for most of this race. With New York a lock for Gore, and Clinton running comfortably ahead of Lazio, it seemed almost a given that the first lady would make her way to Washington as a U.S. senator.
But the race continues to be hard fought. Over the weekend, Republicans first tried to link Clinton to the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in Yemen and to controversial donations from Arab groups. This, the Republicans said, was more reason to question Clinton's loyalty to Israel. (Clinton has come under fire for voicing support for a Palestinian state, and for her now infamous embrace of Yasser Arafat's wife, Suha.)
Tellingly, the poll numbers that show the race tightening also show that Lazio's numbers have not moved. The tightening of the race has been because Clinton's numbers have dropped.
Those numbers have buoyed the spirits of the Lazio campaign. They point to the fact that the Senate race remains close, even as the Democratic presidential nominee holds on to a double-digit lead in the state.
"New York has a history of ticket splitting," says Lazio spokesman Dan McLagan. "For at least the last decade, every time there's been a presidential and statewide race together, New Yorkers have gone one way at the top of the ticket and the other way at the bottom of the ticket."
In 1992, Clinton carried New York as Republican Sen. Al D'Amato was reelected. Two years later, New Yorkers sent Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan back to the Senate while electing Republican George Pataki over incumbent Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo. In 1998, Pataki was reelected while D'Amato was defeated by Democrat Charles Schumer.
"I think you're seeing a lot of moderate Democrats, Reagan Democrats, really people who are fiscally conservative and socially moderate that will gravitate toward Congressman Lazio," McLagan says.
Of course, comparing the Senate race to the presidential race here is a bit disingenuous. The two Senate candidates have spent millions of dollars on this race, while presidential expenditures in the state have been negligible. In that sense, New York is a sort of photographic negative of California, where the presidential race appears to be tight, while Sen. Dianne Feinstein maintains a double-digit lead over her Republican challenger, Rep. Tom Campbell.
McLagan also points to numbers in the poll that show Lazio doing relatively well among the state's Jewish voters -- no doubt a reason for the state GOP's attacks on Clinton's commitment to Israel. "That's a dangerous sign for the Clinton campaign," he says.
Down the home stretch, Lazio has zeroed in on Jewish voters, who are generally Democratic, as potential ticket-splitting swing voters. Calls about the USS Cole bombing that went out over the weekend were targeted at Jews, as is a new spot featuring Giuliani testifying to Lazio's commitment to Israel.
Lazio also has been critical of Clinton's acceptance of $50,000 from the American Muslim Alliance and $1,000 from Abdurrahaman Alamoudi, former executive director of the more radical American Muslim Council. Lazio accuses both groups of supporting terrorist attacks like the one against the USS Cole. Under fire, Clinton returned the money, even though privately her advisors say Lazio is promoting anti-Arab sentiment; while Alamoudi has publicly pledged his support for Hamas and Hezbollah, the American Muslim Alliance in Washington is considered a mainstream Arab political group.
But Lazio remains unrepentant. "There's one candidate here who's actually receiving financial contributions from a group that supports terrorism, murder and violence to achieve political gain," he said on Tuesday's "Today" show.
The New York papers have criticized Lazio's line of attack. Even Newsday, in its endorsement of Lazio, wrote, "Politicizing a national tragedy and tarring Arab-Americans with so broad a brush is reprehensible."
Still, the barrage of mudslinging has Democrats worried about turnout, a factor which many here believe may ultimately decide the election. So while Gore has been hesitant to ask President Clinton to campaign on his behalf, the president came to Harlem Tuesday night to energize core Democratic supporters, speaking to about 400 African-American leaders and clergy at the Kelley Temple Pentecostal church in Harlem.
"Brothers and sisters I want you to know, we be the base," says state Comptroller Carl McCall, the state's highest-ranking African-American elected official, and potential candidate for governor in 2002. "They may not want to say it, but they're talking about us, and the fact that we will determine the outcome of this election."
"The president of the United States is in the 'hood," says Bishop James Gaylord.
By the time he takes the podium, it's clear that Bill Clinton is home. Using the cadence of a preacher, the president riles up the crowd, peppering his speech with rhetorical questions: "Isn't that right?" (The choruses respond: "That's right.") Saying African-Americans will make the difference in the election, Clinton makes an impassioned plea for his wife's election.
"The most important person in the world to me is running for senator," Clinton says. "I've never known anybody that cared more, knew more and worked harder, and had a better ability of blending heart and mind and passion and commitment than Hillary. She will make you very proud."
Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, spent much of the early part of the week trying to shore up the Jewish vote. At the East Midwood Jewish Center in Brooklyn, a man introduced only as "Lev" was working the crowd, banging through a synthesizer-driven power pop version of "Hava Nagila." About 200 seniors sat clapping along, pounding rhythmically on tables, waiting for the first lady to arrive.
And after being introduced by former New York Mayor Ed Koch, Clinton unleashed her harshest attacks on Lazio to date. After a sedate performance earlier in the day, an energized Clinton took the stage, eyes bulging, her hands constantly in motion. "This campaign should be about issues, not me or my opponent," she said. "And certainly not about his misleading, inaccurate, offensive, outrageous, despicable attacks. It ought to be about you and your families ... He doesn't want us to know where he stands, what he's done and what he will do. Well, you can run a negative campaign, Mr. Lazio, but you cannot hide. You cannot hide from your record, you cannot hide from your positions." Then she pulls in the bogeymen. "You cannot hide from the fact that you would go to Washington and be a vote for Trent Lott and Jesse Helms. You cannot hide from the fact that you do not represent the mainstream of New York voters."
When asked later if the stepped-up attacks on Lazio were a response to the tightening of the race, she replies, "We're in the last week of a hard-fought election. There are clear differences and it's time to ratchet up the energy." But the energy on the other side remains high, driven by a visceral dislike of the first lady. If she wins -- and, say, Gore loses -- the sky will suddenly seem the limit. Should she lose ... it's back to being Bill Clinton's wife.
Meanwhile, Lev is back on the synthesizer, crooning as Hillary performs the grip-and-grin. "I'll make a brand new start of it, in old New York. If I can make it there ..."
Anthony York
Anthony York is Salon's Washington correspondent.
MORE FROM Anthony York

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Can I have my android app open a link to a web page? I am developing an app in Android Studio which should open a web page on the phone using Google when a button is clicked. For example, when I have a button to open Google, Facebook and Twitter. I know there are apps for Google, Facebook and Twitter and the app could just link to them but not everyone has these apps and the web page can be loaded a lot easier. Is there a bit of code out there that can do this? Where the URL or http can be passed in and if the button is clicked the URL will open up in Google.

A: This peice of code will open up the default browser app with the url you specify
Intent browserIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW,
            Uri.parse("http://www.google.com"));
    startActivity(browserIntent);

You'll need to have the permission to access the browser in your Manifest.xml
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Quinoa is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a grain crop primarily for its edible seeds. Quinoa is not a grass like wheat or rice, but rather is related to spinach and flowers. . After harvest, the seeds are processed to remove the bitter-tasting outer seed coat.
Quinoa is rich in various nutrients; it contains protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins and dietary minerals in amount , above those of wheat, corn, rice, and oats. It is gluten-free and virtually free of sodium, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C. Quinoa originated in the of northwestern South America, and was domesticated three to four thousand years ago for human consumption in Peru and Bolivia. It is extremely popular here in Denmark. It can be eaten instead of rice or in salads like this one.
To make salad, cook green beans and sugar snaps peas in a pot of salted water until no longer raw, about 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
To make dressing, blend oil, vinegar, Dijon mustard and pepper in a blender. Season with salt and pepper.
To assemble, toss beans, peas, brocoli , pointed cabbage and cabbage. Drizzle salad with dressing and toss again. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.


text:
Q: TCP socket programming using python in different computer systems I am trying to run TCP client and server socket program using Python in different system(system A=windows7(python2.7) & system B=windows10(python 3.6)). server program is running in system B but when client is executed in system A it(client prg) terminates after few seconds displaying message:

ERROR 10060::connection failed because connected party didn't properly respond after a period of time or established connection failed because connected host has failed to response

CLIENT program for lower to uppercase
from socket import *
import socket
clientSocket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
clientSocket.connect(('192.168.43.130',9067))
sentence = input('Input lowercase sentence:')
clientSocket.send(sentence.encode())
modifiedSentence = clientSocket.recv(1024).decode()
print ('From Server:', modifiedSentence)
clientSocket.close()

SERVER PROGRAM lower to uppercase
from socket import *
import socket
serverSocket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET,socket.SOCK_STREAM)
serverSocket.bind(('',9067))
serverSocket.listen(1)
print ('The server is ready to receive')
while 1:
    connectionSocket,  addr = serverSocket.accept()
    sentence = connectionSocket.recv(1024).decode()
    print("String from client-->",sentence)
    capitalizedSentence = sentence.upper()
    print("String in server-->",capitalizedSentence)
    connectionSocket.send(capitalizedSentence.encode())
    print("-------------------------")
    connectionSocket.close()

A: TCP is a streaming protocol and you cannot assume you get the bytes you send in the same 'chunks' out of the receiving end. You'll need to decide on a framing solution. Often used approaches are using an agreed-upon termination character (such as \0 or newline) or first sending the length of a message followed by exactly that number of bytes of message payload.


© SEGA. SEGA AND THE SEGA LOGO ARE EITHER REGISTERED TRADE MARKS OR TRADE MARKS OF SEGA HOLDINGS CO., LTD. CREATIVE ASSEMBLY AND THE CREATIVE ASSEMBLY LOGO ARE EITHER REGISTERED TRADE MARKS OR TRADE MARKS OF THE CREATIVE ASSEMBLY LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Creative Assembly are the British video game development team behind Total War and Alien Isolation. Founded in 1987 they joined the SEGA family in 2005 as a European subsidiary.
Creative Assembly approached Strawberrysoup with a view to redesigning their corporate website. We worked with their team to deliver a ground-breaking new website that served to better showcase the legacy Creative Assembly is building.
A core part of the project was a brand refinement exercise. Our first area of exploration was typography. We wanted a versatile typeface that also worked well alongside the Creative Assembly brand.
A bespoke set of icons were carefully crafted to fit around the other brand elements. These were then used on the Careers page as a means of filtering. This filtering enabled users to drill down to a specific careers sector quickly and easily.
Running the brand throughout the new website was core to ensuring brand consistency.
The new brand assets were run across the site in a concise and consistent manner was key to the sites success.
From colour usage to typographic structures, we crafted a site that utilised the brand assets properly. The result is a slick site that carefully strikes a balance of brand, photography and game artwork.
The Creative Assembly site serves as a key platform for recruitment.
We built the site on Drupal 8 and integrated it with Jobvite's API to pull the careers listings in automatically.
In order to attract new talent, it was key to put a focus on the quality of work and reflect Creative Assembly's ethos – inviting potential employees to work with a diverse and talented team of like-minded people doing great work and building a legacy.
We were tasked with bringing the history and heritage of Creative Assembly to life online.
To give a true sense of progression and provide users with an immersive experience, we went through a painstaking process of image editing, stitching and enhancing lighting and shadows to effectively stitch the history of the studio into a seamless tapestry of key milestones and work.


text:
Thoughts of a Coal Miner
Five generations and a bit of common sense
Stereotyping Appalachians Feeds Only the Coal Industry
By Nick Mullins November 6, 2017 ( 1 )
Photo by Nick Mullins
Trump won the vote in Appalachia because people are tired of being looked down upon. Considering the work of powerful industry interests, a century's worth of negative stereotyping, and culturally insensitive protests against coal—a source of people's pride, heritage, and income—it's not difficult to understand how.
My family has lived in Appalachia for nine generations, and we have worked hard all our lives without asking for a great deal. We were never drawn to extravagance, nor did we need to keep up with the Joneses. Simplicity and family were the means to much of our happiness. As long as we had a decent home, food, and the time to watch our children grow up with a good moral compass, we were fulfilled. "It's not your needs that get you into trouble—it's your wants," my grandfather would often say.
But this lack of complication has been the subject of ridicule by many outside our communities. Among a national and now international audience, Appalachia has been viewed as a degenerate region without sophistication. The dehumanization of its people has allowed for the exploitation of its vast energy and timber reserves, and putting Appalachians down has often been a means of lifting others up: "I may not be rich, but at least I'm not a hillbilly." These forces have made maintaining our dignity a constant struggle.
Exploitative economic systems have ensured that there is no change to our status quo. Low property taxes have appeased out-of-state land-holding companies while keeping our public education system in a near constant budget crisis. What money extractive industries do contribute is spent funding state-certified curriculums on the benefits of coal. Our children are fed an industry narrative that dignity, sacrifice, and the patriotic duty of mining are inextricably tied all while downplaying a century's worth of labor struggles for basic human rights. These issues, compounded by an existing need to appease common core initiatives and standardized testing goals, have limited teachers' abilities to instruct on critical thinking.
By co-opting Appalachian values, the coal industry has elbowed itself to the center of our region's cultural identity. Shannon Bell, a sociologist at the University of Kentucky, has studied the many ways coal industry associations have adapted Appalachian culture in appealing to its people. She found that the industry has used pro-coal media campaigns such as Friends of Coal to manipulate the region into believing that support for the industry, despite its destructive nature, is the accepted cultural norm.
Meanwhile, media misrepresentations have fueled negative stereotypes held by urban populations. In many ways, this has put us on the defensive, pushing Appalachians to seek out and attack the shortcomings of our city counterparts. Rural people have long seen urbanism in contrast to their own values, fixating on stereotypes of city dwellers and suburbanites as being selfish and lacking common sense. Many also associate academia and liberalism with urbanism, an association exploited by media organizations, like Fox News, that politically oppose government regulation and environmentalism.
As a result, the efforts of progressive organizations working in Appalachia are sometimes taken as downward-looking elitism. It doesn't help that many progressives and environmentalists have done a terrible job of communicating with local communities, both in their actions and presentation. When outside activist organizations expect Appalachians to simply accept their protests, marches, street theatre puppets, and public civil disobedience as avenues to their logic, they foster tensions that manifest in bumper stickers like: "lib·er·al / lib(-ə)-rel / noun 1Someone so open minded that their brains have fallen out."
The Confederate flags, Trump signs, and pro-coal stickers I see displayed throughout Appalachia are not as much the result of deep-rooted racism and bigotry as many would like to believe. They are often symbols of defense against a world that views us as lesser people. They are symbols given to us by politicians and corporations that have learned to speak our language, and they throw gasoline on the fiery dissent many feel toward longstanding urban ridicule.
There is no easy fix for the situation in Appalachia. Poverty causes intense suffering with all of the symptoms you would expect. Health outcomes are plagued by a lack of access to health care, food deserts, and the environmental pollution created by decades of coal and natural gas extraction and processing. Overprescription of pain medications has led to a drug abuse epidemic that has spread to younger generations suffering from a loss of hope. Recent media attention on these issues stemming from Donald Trump's election has fed into the national stereotyping of the region, keeping Appalachia in a vicious cycle of self-destruction.
If there is any hope for Appalachia, it is in eliminating the sources of the problem, not just treating its symptoms. We must address the communication barriers that exacerbate feelings of resentment and increase political and cultural divides. Perhaps then we can work toward ending corporate influence over our local culture, economics, and political systems so that we, ourselves, can really begin to shape a better future for our region.
Reposted from Yes! Magazine April 10, 2017
Friend of Coal? Read this…
By Nick Mullins 4 weeks ago
Don't Get National Miner's Day Wrong
By Nick Mullins 2 months ago ( 1 )
Where to go from here?: Thoughts on writing, privilege, scholarly activism, and the future of Appalachia
jajoslinjajoslin
"They are often symbols of defense against a world that views us as lesser people. "
Clues to locating an inspiring wellspring of defiance , too… I think. Those of us who were born & raised outside Appalachia , perched on the up end of the stereotyping see-saw , often don't even know that WE have been a captive audience to the corporate story-tellers. -JJoslin ( Detroit,Michigan- South of Canadian border )
academic elitism academic privilege Appalachia axiology coal coal miner Coal miners Coal mining enviornmental communication environmental activism environmental sociology ethical journalism Friends of Coal miner Mine Safety mining mining fatalities mining industry national miner's day Public Relations research ethics resource exploitation rural rural-urban divide rural politics rural sociology rural urban divide scholarly activism story of stuff Trump underground mining urban urban migration urban sustainability Virginia wealth inequality
Thoughts of a Coal Miner by Nick Mullins is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://thoughtsofacoalminer.com/.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://thoughtsofacoalminer.com/contact/.


We proudly introduce to you our Motorola case that even couples as a mini messenger bag. If you are looking for a versatile option, then this is your item!
Padded and lined with a soft interior to protect from scratches and bumps, this case will keep your device safe. Front slip pocket is handy for credit cards or money and will be kept safe by a covered zipper closure. You can choose to carry them cross body like a mini messenger bag since there is a neck strap included. The leather is approximately 1mm in thickness, so this case will prove to be a durable safe fit for your device.
Here at Happer Studio we are so proud of our products that we guarantee you will love them as well; in fact, if you are unsatisfied with your product, we offer you the opportunity to return it to us! All of our items ship the same or next business day, and we would gladly take returned products. Happer Studio is a small, family run business that truly appreciates our customers!
It is important to note that every product we produce differs slightly. We do our best to select only the highest quality of leather, so this means that every piece of leather is different – similarly to how everyone's fingerprints differ. The distinguishable difference in every pieces' texture and markings goes to show that we use only the best! Any manmade material would be identical to one another.
Happer Studio is a loving, family run business specializing in hand-made leather bags, sleeves, laptop cases, and accessories. We strive to provide our customers with the best experience possible, and we appreciate your business!


text:
PNWBemani.net » Forum » Regional Arcades and DDR Forums » Events, Tournaments, & Meetups »
Gauging Preliminary Interest for an ITG2 Tourney at Acme
Gerrak
Puttin' that rage on the stage...
33 Frazier Park
May 19, 2009, 11:33:52 AM - ORIGINAL POST -
Being that there aren't nearly enough tournaments around here, I have taken the liberty of looking into the possibility of having one at Acme Bowl in Tukwila this summer. I spoke with Bill Masterman who owns the machines on Monday and he is in full support of an ITG2 tournament and has agreed to put the machine on event play at a date of our choosing. I have not yet spoken with an event coordinator at Acme, so this is by no means a for-sure thing, but I wanted to put out there that this is in the early works and I wanted to get an idea of the interest level of the community. I think I will gun for mid-late July for a date for the tournament. As to how the thing will be run, we will most likely not run a qualifier and just say that this would be an expert-level tournament encompassing the full scope of difficulties and that any who are interested would be welcome and encouraged to come play. So please if you have any input or just want to express interest, post below =) Should be a lot of fun
-GRak
FILTHY CASUAL
31 Bellevue, WA
May 19, 2009, 11:44:43 AM #1
I would enter this tournament to support the community if not enough people showed up otherwise, as paying the entry fee isn't a problem for me, even knowing I'll place dead last.
However, due to the fact that I'm kind of sickly, my skill is highly disproportionate; I can be competitive on 7s and 8s, but if I even attempt anything over 10 feet, my heart rate speeds up to over 200 and I have to stop. For this reason I don't USUALLY enter Expert ITG tournaments and, if entry was high enough without me, I'd probably just be a spectator/cheerleader for my husband.
If this goes well, maybe we can look into running an oldskool Max 2 tournament for the old losers like me.
The Almighty Tallest
37 Mukilteo, WA
May 19, 2009, 12:29:12 PM #2
Quote from: Gerrak on May 19, 2009, 11:33:52 AM
this would be an expert-level tournament encompassing the full scope of difficulties and that any who are interested would be welcome and encouraged to come play.
I'd probably show up to watch, but like Laura, I wouldn't last past round 1 against people playing 11 - 13 steppers. I know my strength and weaknesses, and playing ITG's 11+ songs are not one of my strengths.
On a positive note, I have two friends who would probably participate in this.
Quote from: Laura
I'll be there in a heartbeat!
« Last Edit: May 19, 2009, 12:32:02 PM by Suko »
I wouldn't last past round 1 against people playing 11 - 13 steppers
I dont believe that a free-range of difficulties from the getgo would be a good or fun idea; we would likely say <= 10 up through the last 16, <=11 for the last 8, and all difficulties for the semifinals and finals. I am (as a mathematician hehe) brainstorming and consulting people for ideal tournament styles as not to just have people show up play 1 or two songs and then get knocked out.
Also bear in mind there is a DDR 7th mix and a DDR Supernova machine at Acme as well, which will happily service those not currently playing in the tournament =) So even if you don't make it that far in it's still sure to be a good time for all.
Realistically speaking, a tournament in the PNW hasn't had more than 16-20 people show up for years, so by your scale, it'd still be bad news for those with no stamina.
Obviously there are dance games that people who can't pass hard songs on ITG can play once they get knocked out of the tournament, but that's not really the point... it's not so much about winning or losing and more about running a tournament people want to participate in. I feel like there are a lot of newer (or oldskool and therefore unaccustomed to ITG level difficulty) players who would support a tournament scene IF they felt like that scene catered to them.
If you really want to see who the best DDR player in the PnW is, 13s are the only fair way to do it. For drumming up interest/reviving the tournament scene/making friends, though, your best bet is probably capping the difficulty or offering some kind of alternative for those who know that entering Expert ITG is a lost cause.
SoDeepPolaris
Quote from: Laura on May 19, 2009, 01:20:06 PM
Capping difficulty at 10 or 11 turns it into a quad attack tourney. You could argue any ITG tourney will have those high level players, but I don't see limiting difficulty that low the whole tournament correlating to lower level players doing better.
I don't know how newer players progress these days, but I can remember when my friends started playing around Max 2's release, the goal was to do suicide runs (all 10s). After the "OMG I PASSED OMES" experience, we turned to AA's and SDGs, then AAA's.
I don't think it will make low level players do better. I think it WILL make low level players choose to participate at all. If you're not able to pass 11s, chances are you can't quad star a 7 either. But I know that if I didn't desperately want to support local Bemani, I'd find no interest in entering a tournament where I knew I would have to walk off the stage during rounds because I'm incapable of physically executing the stepchart.
Then again, I'm coming from the perspective of an "old school" player (my first games were on 3rd mix in 2001), who has seen countless people develop all kinds of problems from said suicide runs and from the increasing difficulty of charts - I know about 3 people who now have bum knees, not to mention the countless injuries I've witnessed during play (I remember one girl who was considered the best female player at the time trying Queen of Light on ITG beta and having to go to the hospital because she threw her back out and couldn't continue/stand/walk.)
13s and suicide runs have their merits. But like I said, it vastly depends on what kind of crowd you're trying to attract. If you want 7-8 people who think they're the best and want to prove it to enter, that format is fine. If you want to attract old or brand new players, and make it more of a fun social event than a serious business tournament, things like how a wide range of players will perceive the tournament need to be considered.
« Last Edit: May 19, 2009, 01:45:46 PM by Laura »
If possible, consider having two tournaments. Expert and Hard mode. Each player can only enter one, but make the prize more substantial for the winners in the Expert category. This way those who should play in Expert will feel compelled to participate in the Expert division and hopefully won't compete in the Hard division just so they can insta-win.
Yes, the 11+ songs on ITG do a good job of separate the strong from the weak in terms of skill. However, I haven't seen a crowd get worked up when the two players going at it on an 11+ song have scores over 3% apart. It's just not close enough to get excited about. You claim that making it easier results in a "quad-star" tournament, but you should watch the crowd's reactions at Sakuracon when Chrono and I played End of the Century (no bar) and we both got 2 excellents. Yes, it was practically a AAA attack race, but damn the crowd loved the suspense. No one knew who was going to win until the final scores rolled up the screen. I can't say I get that kind of suspense watching two people play an 11+ song. The exceptions to this are the ITG nationals in '05 and '06, but that is the stuff of legends!
Yeah, we used to do that when there were more players and it worked really well, aside from the fact that there were always those two people or so who had AA'd most of Heavy (hard to do in the Max days!) and still entered Standard, which capped at 7 feet IIRC. I don't think it'd be a problem now though, other than the pain of having to run 2 tournaments.
Quote from: Suko on May 19, 2009, 01:56:29 PM
Midwest still has close calls at every tournament so I don't know how strong the scene is here in the PNW (I'm pretty detached here). And it's a lot of the same dudes from way back playing (minus DjStunna and a couple others I guess).
Judging by skill level I know to exist in the SeaTac area though I figured this tourney would be aimed towards the high end players. But alas, I only know a few people who play out here versus the community I know a lot better (Indiana/Ohio/MI/KY).
Oh, and I really hope no one does "no bar" tourneys still. I hate the kids in Salem who are terribad at the game but still insist that "bar-raping" makes you a noob.
Check this forum out for ideas on how to frame your tournament if you want some ideas.
http://midwestmusicgames.com/index.php?showforum=11
« Last Edit: May 19, 2009, 02:22:21 PM by SoDeepPolaris »
ancsik
DISTINCTLY LACKING IN PEANUT CONTENT
Let's not forget that difficulty caps are always a touchy subject at DDR/ITG tournaments. Holding it to 10's for a round or two would be a step towards including newer players, but a lot of skilled players play very tactical tournaments where they figure out their opponents' weaknesses ahead of time and cater to them, and blocking the ability to do so has created some friction in the past. It's not as much of an issue as it used to be, but I remember at various times (on extreme, not ITG) there have been pairs of players throughout the tournament level spectrum who would have had almost perfectly balanced DDRecall comparisons because one would almost always win on 7s and 8s by a very narrow amount and the other would do the same with 9s and very definitively so on 10s. Neither player "deserves" to be in later rounds more than the other, but by capping at 8s for a couple rounds, there would've been the connotation that mastery of lower level Heavy charts was more important that mastery of higher level charts. I will admit that ITG players have less of this effect, but there have been rounds where clever song choice let me win a song (or the round) against players generally much better than me.
The secondary issue is the state of competitive ITG in WA. It basically doesn't exist at this point - other than Amber, I don't see anyone who trains on non-r21 charts more than occasionally and, personally, I haven't touched an ITG song's single chart outside of Marathon in months. Laura and I just drove down to Portland for what worked out to be a 4 person Extreme tournament and had a blast (all 4 of us did), so it's no function of me losing my interest in these games in general - I've just become very disenchanted with the normal flow of our ITG tournaments. This tournament actually worked out a little like what I described above; we ended up playing with tennis-style rounds (win at least 3 songs and 2 more than the other player) and had rounds go as long as 7 songs (4-2 with one tie) because of some very even matching and lots of work trying to figure out what people were and were not good at. I've fallen pretty far out of shape since our last ITG tournament (I used to be able to play sets of all 12's, I was down to the point where a single 9 rendered my exhausted and am back up to playing sets of 10's), but after only a few days of training, I got myself back up to some kind of competitive state and enjoyed myself.
I will also vouch for the fact that there a lot of newer players who are getting low 90's on 8's and 9's. I've met people who were in similar situations when they played in their first tournament; those in DDR tournaments seemed a lot more likely to enter another than those who played in ITG tournaments, because ITG tournaments lend themselves to only allowing the top players to feel like they belong. Additionally, a lot of our top tier players have recently stopped playing or moved, making something of Extreme's level a lot more appropriate than it had been for awhile.
An ITG tournament could be made to work, but it'll take a lot of careful planning and tweaking to make lesser skilled players want to try again next time without alienating the expert players.
Also, an idea: DMN ran a tournament at Narrows where about 55 preapproved r21 charts were available to all players for their rounds. What if we did this again with another 50-100 songs (with hard/expert for every song) and disallowed all official charts? It would let us keep it to a reasonable level (say a couple 11-equivalent charts) and help keep tournaments from falling into the same rut they always do where only 20% of the songlist even gets used. With a little screening, we could block out stupid gimmick charts and try to branch into different playstyles (ITG sticks to a couple core things and a lot of charts, especially 9's, end up all looking the same to most players) with a fair amount of balance. Obviously a lot mroe work to coordinate, but worth throwing out there.
@Suko: Regarding 11's not being that close, the last couple ITG tournaments we had, the top 8 always had rounds within 1%, usually much tighter than that. I think we had some down all the way to 1 or 2 excellents. Of course, at least 3 of those players have left the state since then, but the point still stands. Of particular note, there still wasn't as much excitement over those as there was at S-con's DDR tournament when people were fighting for the slight better SDG this year. It's probably tied at least partly to the fact that regardless of the song, every single top 8 round in an ITG tournament looks exactly the same because most of the 11+'s look almost exactly the same.
@SoDeepPolaris: Talking to people from other still-competitive areas, we picked up an unusual dynamic where the top players advanced far faster than the people below them creating a huge, huge rift between them and basically had no hope of catching up. So while our top players were on par with or better than the top players elsewhere (didn't Mykl land in the #8 spot at nationals?), we only had about 4-6 players who were up at that level level, and everyone else was pretty average as far as tournaments elsewhere would go. Our tournaments ended up catering to the top players normally, and most everyone else just stopped going as a result, since the skill levels were smoothly distributed.
Quote from: ancsik on May 19, 2009, 02:32:18 PM
It's probably tied at least partly to the fact that regardless of the song, every single top 8 round in an ITG tournament looks exactly the same because most of the 11+'s look almost exactly the same.
Gerrak, I see you've been here a little bit, but I don't know how long you've lurked on the forums. Welcome to the site. I hope I can fill you in on the scene here a little bit.
I do not speak for everyone in the Washington area, but I have a general feeling of what has worked, what hasn't worked, and where the community here is at in terms of our competition level. I have been to the last 2 major (non-convention) PNW tournaments, and things have even changed since then.
QUICK SUMMARY: Our scene is not "hardcore 11+" players anymore. Yes, there are some of us in this area that like that, and can still play at that level, but those people don't post frequently here. ALSO: Most the people you see playing 10s, 11s at Acme, Gameworks, Narrows, do NOT post here. They may read the site, I'm not sure, but they aren't the active users here.
The active crowd on this site from the Seattle area has been burned-out from the PA tournaments because we had a group of people that were so good that they dominated every tournament. We wouldn't even be able to place bets on who would win, because we already knew the winners. Those of us still here like to HANG OUT and play DDR. We are not PA score crazy, even though we may have been in the past.
What we are - is SUPER COMPETITIVE, but not PA players anymore/and if we could, we don't enjoy it. Yes, there still are those who enjoy it, but they aren't involved with the scene much anymore.
What Laura and ancsik are trying to say is basically: ITG was played by the PA crowd, and the game was good for that; but it's not fun for anyone else. A tournament *not* focused on ITG and passing 12-13 footers is what we want.
So to answer the original question, we don't recommend a difficult, ITG based tournament if you want a lot of us to come and have fun.
« Last Edit: May 19, 2009, 03:04:47 PM by BLueSS »
ITG based COULD be ok if, like ancsik (WOW that's weird to type now...) suggested, we used the ITG engine to pose a fun challenge of "here are 50 new charts that will be played in the tournament." What isn't fun is entering a tournament where half the players just play INTIMIDATING BARE BONES TECHNO WITH 13 FOOT STEPCHART on their opponents because they know that not everyone will even attempt to play that chart.
I think part of why I want to see a tournament again is just to encourage new players who I sometimes see around but have never met to come introduce themselves. I know that Tony told me he has some friends from work who go to ACME for ITG every Monday, but I don't know how good they are or whether or not they'd want a 13 foot-a-palooza tournament... nonetheless, those are a few more "recruits."
I think you guys are blowing out of proportion what the intention is here. I go to Acme usually 3-4 times per week and frequently see people, at least a dozen different people, who play proficiently at expert level, not meaning getting 99s on summer or anything like that, but can get >90%s on 10s and 11s a lot of the time, with the best of us being those who play those boring custom 12s and '13's. That's the kind of player base I was expecting and was looking for to fill the top end of the tournament. Sure if Amber enters we'll all get creamed, but I'd like to think it would be fun to go head to head against some of the people I think I'm comparable to, and to meet and play with people from the community. I would hope that players of all levels would at least be interested in hanging out and maybe participating just for kicks. I know personally I probably wont make it even into the semifinals, but I'm just there to have fun with it.
Unrelated, I spoke with an events coordinator and I'll meet up with someone soon to discuss the matter further. And when/if I get a date scheduled I will be posting sheets advertising both the tournament and the pnwbemani forums at Acme, Narrows, probably UW and probably GameWorks in Seattle, as to make sure the word gets out to those not reading up here.
but can get >90%s on 10s and 11s a lot of the time, with the best of us being those who play those boring custom 12s and '13's. That's the kind of player base I was expecting and was looking for to fill the top end of the tournament.
It's exactly like BlueSS said - those kinds of players just don't post on these forums, so you're going to get a very different response here than if you physically approached the 13 feet crowd.
I know personally I probably wont make it even into the semifinals, but I'm just there to have fun with it.
And that's exactly what we're saying; nobody here cares if they win a tournament, but we do care about having fun, and for many of us, even those "upper end" players who can get high scores on them, 13s aren't even remotely fun. As an example, I know for a fact that ancsik can get very high scores on 12s when he plays them, but doesn't really "enjoy" anything over an easy 11. I think it's about differing definitions of fun for different people - and when planning a tournament you have to weigh things in terms of sheer numbers; four people have already come out in favor of easier charts being "fun" and harder charts being "not fun," VS one person who seems to find the harder charts to be more "fun." You'd have to poll at ACME to get better representation of all types of players, but I think the point that I'm trying to make is that despite the fact that there ARE a lot of people who play super difficult charts, they're not the people who have ever entered a tournament around here. (Amber excepted, and she's a supremely cool human being who I am happy to donate my entry fee to )
Gerrak,
Tell all those people to come post here so that they can give their input on a tournament!!!
We can only give you own opinion from the people that are on this site. Unfortunately, we don't know those people who are there playing 12's/13's; nor do they post here, nor online anywhere else.
Additionally, those people don't show up to the tournaments we've ran. Granted, there are a lot of new people playing DDR at the arcades, but still; they're not in the scene, they just play.
Could you have a tournament that focuses on high difficulty songs? Yes, and people might show up and enjoy it - but only if you talk to them in the arcades, and that crowd is a different one than the one currently here and posting.
I haven't entered the tournaments because I suck (compared to tournament levels) at anything 9+, and no, I will not enter a hard/difficult 11+ tournament "for fun". I will go to hang out, and run air-hockey tournaments on the side, but I won't enter.
Now tournaments that are with modifiers, something that doesn't require silly stamina only 11+ stepcharts, that - I'd enter. I play technically, not BUTTON SMASH, blow my knee out 11s.
Quote from: Gerrak on May 19, 2009, 03:32:33 PM
I go to Acme usually 3-4 times per week and frequently see people, at least a dozen different people, who play proficiently at expert level, not meaning getting 99s on summer or anything like that, but can get >90%s on 10s and 11s a lot of the time,
I can usually get 95%+ on most 10+ songs, but I still know entering a tournament without a level cap is pointless for me. I might be able to get 95% on a 10, but what about the 6 others who can get 98%+ on that, or god forbid 99.6%+? That's a HUUUUUUGE difference in skill level (IMO).
Listen, you're the one doing the leg work for this thing, so I say make it how you want to make it. I'll probably show up to the tournament no matter how it's fashioned (as long as it's at a time I can make it), I just may or may not participate. I'll just wait and see. I love ITG, hell I own a damn machine, but I know I had a lot more fun at the DDR tournaments I ran rather than the ITG one.
I agree with BluesS on many of his insights. Particularly regarding how it's never fun when you can go to a tournament and know who's going to take 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. I feel that by adding level caps or mods, or something, you throw a bit of uncertainty into the mix, making everyone wonder who's going to come out on top.
If you're interested, here's the posts for the tournaments I hosted in Pullman/Moscow a while back. These weren't created for the Seattle area however, so keep that in mind...
http://www.pnwbemani.net/smf/index.php?topic=617.0
(Side note, off topic post)
Suko, I still don't think I've met you... that's not cool.
You'd have to poll at ACME to get better representation of all types of players,
This isn't a bad idea. You should put a flier up saying, "Upcoming ITG tourny, please cast your votes on Pnwbemani.net" or something like that.
It would get more people on the site regardless. I'd be happy to go down there and distribute flyers.
I've definitely seen the people who can pass most 9s and 10s with low 90s from time to time, who as far as I know, do not post here or know too many people from here. The problem being, every time we've gotten a couple of those people to show up, they get their ass handed to them in round 1 and never come back. This is hopefully different now that our top players have mostly faded away (Amber is about the only one left; it used to be a group of 5 or 6, so if 16 people entered, the bottom 6 seeds would be killed so horribly they never wanted to try again. We tended to have about 10 returning players and 2 or 3 new players each time around, those new players fall right into those 6 deadly slots, and yeah, we never saw them again), but who knows how it will work out.
And Laura has it half right with me and hard songs. I hate PAing hard charts, because playing them multiple times is just painful (my knee won't do it). I love playing hard charts for the sake of passing stuff, but the staying power is purely tired to the challenge, once I've passed it a couple times, it's old. Anything above easy 11s is only fun a handful of times for me, so the frequency they show up in tournament play ruins tournaments for me.
Before the Portland tourney last weekend (and ignoring the S-con tourneys), the last tournaments we've had have been things like SN Battle mode and 5th mix, just because it's not an ITG tournament.
Quote from: BLueSS on May 19, 2009, 04:02:03 PM
Yeah, since I moved to this area last year I've only met a handful of people.
Unfortunately ACME is a 40 min drive from where I live, and now that we own our own machine, I don't get down their too much (except about once a month when we feel like enjoying the arcade experience).
If this tourny happens I hope to meet some new players.
40 minutes from Lynnwood?! Granted, I don't know where in Lynnwood you are, but when I lived on 164th I used to be able to get to ACME in 25-30 consistently... of course, that was when I was 18 and a totally reckless driver...
Man, you have ITG, I have Pop'n, more people have a machine or two... sometimes I think we should all just rent some garage apartment or something, split the 500 bucks a month rent, and have a freeplay arcade that anyone can go to at any time of day.
lol, that'd be like a private club or a speak-easy? =]
One can always dream. I'm still hoping to get an arcade up here to let me put it in their establishment and split the cash 50/50 with them.


String Jazz Lovers - THE JAZZ NETWORK WORLDWIDE "A GREAT PLACE TO HANG"
Open for all lovers of string-based or string-led jazz vibes. Meet here, discuss performances, CD releases, upcoming performances, jazz string pedagogy and all forms of jazz string life or resources!
Location: Earth and annexing the moon!
You need to be a member of String Jazz Lovers to add comments!
My new CD entitled Phat Jazz is finished! Will get it out for you all to check out real soon!
Dear Friends, vote for the Russian musician Igor Besschastny in international competition Made in New York is the first international online jazz competition!
New CD "Soulchestral Groove" is done!
Check us out--an eclectic group of strings and percussion! Our debut cd, "Good Hair", is available at www.cdbaby.com/cd/musiquenoire.
We're also one of the featured artists this month on the JAZZ NETWORK home page.
It will be available @ CDBaby in the very near future.
Hey Darrell, Thanks for starting this forum. I, of course, agree with your statement: Jazz is a form of musical expression. It's for anyone to share their musical voice, no matter what instrument you play.
Thanks for joining! Let's spread the word around. Jazz isn't just a certain beat or a classic style. Jazz is every form of musical expression. It's creative and shows depth regardless of the instrumentation!


text:
Hackney community cafe the Stour Space secures lease after threat of closure
by Nina Jones/ May 31, 2019/ Arts, Business, Hackney, News/ No Comments/
View of the Stour space from Roach Road Pic: Robert Lamb
A community-led cafe, arts and events space in Hackney is celebrating after securing a new 18-month lease via a crowd-funding initiative, staving off the threat of closure.
The Stour Space, a non-profit organisation, was threatened with closure in late March and management had to find £50,000 by March 27. They raised some £8000 on donor box and gathered other funds from events and sales at the space.
The owners of The Stour Space said in a post on social media regarding the future of the project: "This can be achieved by people visiting the space to attend events and for a drink."
If all goes well in the next 18 months of business, the owner's are reportedly looking at a minimum of a 25-year lease. This information was released following a meeting with their landlords, Hackney and Tower Hamlet's council, The London Legacy Development Corporation and the Mayor of London's office.
UPDATE FROM STOUR SPACE DIRECTORS , see image for full statement!
*We have secured our lease renewal! We will be issued a new lease by the 16th May!* We are keeping our campaign open for now and you can get some great perks via the https://t.co/wEQafJJEK5 page! 💖#COMMUNITY pic.twitter.com/5bmDQOK3Np
— Stour Space (@StourSpace) 8 May 2019
The space, which opened in 2009, is one of the few affordable studio spaces left for artists to rent on Hackney Wick and Tower Hamlet's Fish Island – an area which used to be a hub for artists who are now being forced out of the area due to rising rent prices and gentrification.
Described as 'the new Shoreditch' by the Telegraph in 2016- rent prices have risen accordingly. Rent for The Stour Space has doubled, now totalling £90,000 a year since it opened in 2009.
This is due to it's prime placement next to the Olympic Park, which can be seen across from the canal next to the Stour Space.
The owners have however previously stated that they will not raise rent prices for their 40 resident artists. Stour Space co-founder Neil McDonald told the Hackney Citizen: "We believe that this is so important to maintain affordable rents for creative purposes.
"Not only does facilitating creative practice create communities but it's also a matter of diversity. People from low income backgrounds especially find it difficult to start their own business and make a living from it."
Street Art on the rear side of the Stour Space Pic: Robert Lamb
Local resident and artist Eva Bozyte said: "The Stour Space is a vital part of our community, providing spaces for people to create and socialise. It enhances most-residents day-to-day lives and brings a lot of visibility to the area. Walking past the building closed and empty would be saddening and yet another degradation of this community."
Since the threat of closure, the venue has been hosting regular events labelled as 'Save Our Stour Specials', the proceeds of which go towards securing the future of the artistic hub. The space will continue running, now providing £15,000 upfront quarterly rent rather than monthly payments in order to continue running the space.
New campaign to end period poverty for Hackney schoolgirls
by Andrea Stromskag/
Schools facing shortfall after spending review
by Amalia Illgner/
Celebrating Start-Ups: Come the Revolution [Video]
by Lene Wold/
CCTV footage released following raid on Shoreditch tech company
by Joseph Green/


text:
package com.amazonaws.services.apigateway.model.transform;

import javax.annotation.Generated;

import com.amazonaws.SdkClientException;
import com.amazonaws.services.apigateway.model.*;

import com.amazonaws.protocol.*;
import com.amazonaws.annotation.SdkInternalApi;

/**
 * CreateDocumentationPartRequestMarshaller
 */
@Generated("com.amazonaws:aws-java-sdk-code-generator")
@SdkInternalApi
public class CreateDocumentationPartRequestMarshaller {

    private static final MarshallingInfo<String> RESTAPIID_BINDING = MarshallingInfo.builder(MarshallingType.STRING).marshallLocation(MarshallLocation.PATH)
            .marshallLocationName("restapi_id").build();
    private static final MarshallingInfo<StructuredPojo> LOCATION_BINDING = MarshallingInfo.builder(MarshallingType.STRUCTURED)
            .marshallLocation(MarshallLocation.PAYLOAD).marshallLocationName("location").build();
    private static final MarshallingInfo<String> PROPERTIES_BINDING = MarshallingInfo.builder(MarshallingType.STRING)
            .marshallLocation(MarshallLocation.PAYLOAD).marshallLocationName("properties").build();

    private static final CreateDocumentationPartRequestMarshaller instance = new CreateDocumentationPartRequestMarshaller();

    public static CreateDocumentationPartRequestMarshaller getInstance() {
        return instance;
    }

    /**
     * Marshall the given parameter object.
     */
    public void marshall(CreateDocumentationPartRequest createDocumentationPartRequest, ProtocolMarshaller protocolMarshaller) {

        if (createDocumentationPartRequest == null) {
            throw new SdkClientException("Invalid argument passed to marshall(...)");
        }

        try {
            protocolMarshaller.marshall(createDocumentationPartRequest.getRestApiId(), RESTAPIID_BINDING);
            protocolMarshaller.marshall(createDocumentationPartRequest.getLocation(), LOCATION_BINDING);
            protocolMarshaller.marshall(createDocumentationPartRequest.getProperties(), PROPERTIES_BINDING);
        } catch (Exception e) {
            throw new SdkClientException("Unable to marshall request to JSON: " + e.getMessage(), e);
        }
    }

}


text:
Аксилла (от  — «подмышка») — пазуха между сосочками или бугорками некоторых родов кактусов (например, Маммиллярия, Корифанта).

Морфология
Располагаются на стеблях кактусов выше основания сосочков или бугорков, представляющих собой разросшееся листовое подножие; с более или менее обильным опушением; у видов, для молодых растений которых свойственны голые аксиллы, появление опушения предвещает переход к цветению. У маммиллярий закладывающаяся в апикальной (верхушечной) меристеме пазушная почка в процессе роста в дальнейшем пространственно и функционально разделяется на две части - ареолу и аксиллу. Обе новые меристемы радиально-симметричны, но если ареола располагается на верхушке сосочка или бугорка и обычно в ней формируются только колючки, то аксилла, находящаяся в пазухе сосочка, никогда не формирует колючки. Пазушные почки маммиллярий благодаря такому строению называются диморфными.
У корифант и анцистрокактусов пазушные почки в процессе роста удлиняются, но ареола и аксилла не разъединяются (соединены бороздкой).

Значение
В аксилле находится меристема, из которой формируется либо боковые побеги, либо цветки. В подавляющем большинстве случаев из одной аксиллы развивается один цветок.

Примечания

Литература
 Mauseth J.D. Structure–Function Relationships in Highly Modified Shoots of Cactaceae//Annals of Bonany. — 2006 — T.98, № 5, — C.901-926 — ISSN 0305-7364

Морфология растений

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


MykoTroph News: What Can Be Done If Food Makes You Sick?
Online PR News – 29-June-2016 – The skin is itching, the tongue is burning or the stomach is hurting: In the industrialized countries, the number of people who are allergic to particular foods is still big. In the USA, four to five percent of the population suffers from food allergies. Therefore, it is good to know that Mycotherapy healing with mushrooms exists. Mycotherapy is an easy to use and proven naturopathic therapy. Medicinal mushrooms can be successfully used to sooth the symptoms and to fight the causes of allergies. Those effects were shown by observational studies from MykoTroph Institute for Nutritional and Fungal Medicine and experiences from naturopathy.
Generally, the consumption of any food can cause an allergic reaction. Cow milk, soy, chicken eggs, wheat, peanuts and hazelnuts are common triggers for infants and small children. When it comes to teenagers and adults, the main triggers are raw fruits and vegetables, nuts, fish and crustaceans. So-called pollen-related food allergies often affect adults. These cross-allergies can often be observed if someone is allergic to pollen of early-flowering trees and bushes. Birch-pollen allergy sufferers are heavily affected by allergic complaints after the consumption of apples or hazelnuts.
Food allergies have many symptoms. The skin is often affected by itching, swellings, reddening, and wheals. Watery eyes, runny nose, asthma attacks, abdominal cramps and diarrhea are further symptoms. In very rare cases, heavy allergic reactions can result in an anaphylactic shock. Therefore, a thorough diagnostic examination is needed when someone is affected by food allergies.
Experts agree that allergies are almost always caused by a faulty regulation and an excessive defense response of the immune against harmless substances. In case of food allergies, these harmless substances are tiny protein elements contained in certain foods. Medicinal mushrooms are considered as one of the strongest natural immunomodulators because of their richness in beta-glucans. When it comes to food allergies, medicinal mushrooms have proven effective because they are able to rebalance the excessive immune system. Medicinal mushrooms also contain ergosterol (vitamin D2) and trace elements (cinc and selenium). Those valuable ingredients support the beta-glucans. Medicinal mushrooms are one of the worlds oldest natural medicines and have been successfully used in the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for centuries.
Besides the regulation of the immune system, medicinal mushroom Reishi has further anti-allergic modes of action. Reishi has anti-inflammatory properties because it contains triterpenes which have cortisol-like effects. The histamine release which is responsible for many allergic symptoms can be reduced by Reishi due to its properties. Furthermore, it contributes to an improved oxygen supply of the body. This has turned out highly beneficial against allergic asthma.
In addition to Reishi, medicinal mushrooms Hericium and Pleurotus have also proven to be effective. They contribute to the stabilization of the intestinal mucosa and promote its healthy development. This is highly important for people who suffer from food allergies because a healthy intestinal mucosa is a decisive factor for a well-balanced and powerful immune system. Hericium can reduce the permeability of the intestinal walls (Leaky Gut Syndrome). This makes it harder for allergy-triggering substances contained in foods to pass the intestinal walls. This results in a reduced risk of sensitization for allergies. Hericium is also beneficial for damaged and irritated mucosa of the respiratory tract. If the food allergy is associated with unrest and exhaustion, Cordyceps with its soothing and mood-lifting properties will help. Cordyceps is regarded as lung-strengthening and it is therefore beneficial against allergic asthma. Medicinal mushroom Polyporus can be helpful against allergic rhinitis.
Medicinal mushrooms are available as mushroom powder capsules. According to observational studies of MykoTroph Institute for Nutritional and Fungal Medicine, especially mushroom powder derived from the whole mushroom has proven effective. Only if the mushroom powder is derived from the whole mushroom, the powder will contain all of the effective ingredients of medicinal mushrooms. For further information, please visit http://www.mykotroph.com/home.html.
MykoTroph AG - Institute for Nutritional and Fungal Medicine - based in Limeshain was founded in 2003 by Franz Schmaus. The agricultural engineer concerned himself with the effects and use of medicinal mushrooms for more than 30 years and is one of the most renowned experts in this field. MykoTroph Institute aims to spread the knowledge of the mushrooms preventative and healing effects and make it accessible to a wide public.
Further information and studies can be found on the institute's website http://www.mykotroph.com. Additionally, Franz Schmaus and his team, consisting of mycotherapists and naturopaths, are available for extensive advice from Monday to Friday between 8.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. via the hotline +0049 (0) 6047-98 85 30. People who are interested can also arrange a personal consultation at the institute via that number. Telephone consultations are free of charge. Comprehensive information on fungal medicine can also be requested for free at MykoTroph Institute.


text:
The Discourse Lounge
When it comes to safety: screw the process
darrellowens.substack.com
It's time to stop playing games with city governments who lack the willpower to make their streets safer and employ tactical approaches instead.
Darrell Owens
Tactical Urbanists in Maine painting their own bike lanes. Source: http://tacticalurbanismguide.com/about/
Americans are increasingly abandoning the church but if there's one religion they cling onto it is the automobile. 29% of national emissions—the relative majority—come from the transportation sector1. Of the 1.9 billion metric tons of annual transportation emissions, 58% of them come from cars2. Cars rival gun homicides and suicides combined having killed 38,000 people just in the last year alone through traffic accidents3. A leading cause of children deaths in the U.S. is a car crash4 and a leading cause of non-natural death for anyone under the age of 54 is also a traffic accident5.
So why don't American politicians do something? Because they're cowards. Because they only listen to the loudest voters who email them incessantly about parking. They don't view the transit rider or the cyclist as a true voter. Many of them haven't even heard from a non-driving voter. Elected officials think there's nothing that can be done about traffic violence and pollution beyond performative signs and electric cars.
This has not been the case in Paris. The mayor Anne Hidalgo has been radically removing cars from Paris's main city center, converting streets for bikes only, pedestrianizing roads and turning boulevards into parks. Initially when the program was first proposed many scoffed at her like they do in the U.S. But now Paris's anti-car program has been a huge success with broad popular support among Parisians enjoying their healthy city.
"Okay," you may say. "This is America, we all drive here."
At the start of the pandemic lockdown, Warren Logan, a city policy director on mobility in Oakland, decided to just shut several streets down to car traffic. No meetings. No consultants. No "phases". He just went for it and it too became widely popular. It had a few growing pains of course. Academics and culture pundits were predictably quick to lash out against the lack of a so-called "community process" as they always do. Many motorists were irritated by not being able to exert their God-given right to drive on a piece of paved land. But the actual "Slow Streets" as they were called became immensely popular among neighbors.
When I walked on a Slow Street, I saw things I thought I'd never see in a city with a traffic violence problem as bad as Oakland's. 15 elementary aged children riding on bicycles; seniors doing a morning walk in the middle of the street; disabled folks in wheelchairs strolling alongside parents pushing strollers. Many cities followed Oakland and shut down neighborhood streets. San Francisco went as far as shutting down a highway, which activists are now fighting to keep shut down.
We didn't have to wait for density or competitive alternatives because most American cities were not built as car-centric places. Our cities were turned into car-centric places and they can be reverted. But they will NOT be reverted under the current planning regime of process. Cars are a lucrative transportation that through state policy was given total dominion over entire cities and they will not be dismantled through incrementalism from the planning department.
The reality is that the good intentioned refrain of "I would take transit if it were good" or "I would ride a bike if the infrastructure was safer" is not an invitation for carrots over sticks. We cannot afford to run empty buses every 5 minutes hoping a driver is seduced, or build more bike lanes if that same driver is complaining it'll take away their parking space.
You're going to have to fight to make driving more inconvenient than riding a bike or taking transit. Planners must make driving harder by adding walls, barriers, taking away lanes and prohibiting entire streets to cars. Politicians have framed physical obstacles like these and bumper-to-bumper traffic as making driving more dangerous because motorists fear collisions, but it's their fear that actually makes driving safer.
That is why despite driving having declined by 13% in 2020 as shelter in place reduced commuting, traffic deaths increased by 7% over the previous year. Because when drivers weren't slowed down in traffic and instead operated under the illusion that the streets were clear, they sped up, got reckless and killed people or themselves.
Next, not a single additional parking space should be built in your city. Drivers getting frustrated with the lack of parking is precisely why they often opt for transit. For example, in 2018 the Bay Area ranked #2 behind New York City in commuters who don't drive, including 60% of San Francisco workers and residents6. Why? Not just because transit is decent but because parking is really hard. Driving into downtown San Francisco carries a big risk. Not only are you stuck in soul crushing traffic on a single bridge, but once you get to San Francisco, parking is hard to find and expensive. If you don't park perfectly the vigilant meter maids will quickly ticket your car. Parking enforcement, unlike the uselessness and abusiveness of traffic enforcement, is a highly valuable tool in dislodging people into sustainable transportation.
But elected officials as mentioned earlier are cowards, so this is where you come in. When development is proposed with any amount of parking, file lawsuits on environmental grounds. Use tactical urbanism as well. Organize with your neighbors to shut down your streets on weekends, as a starter. Just do it, don't ask for permits. Once it's done and you've ignored the initial blowback from motorists who mostly don't live in your neighborhood anyways, your neighbors will love it. Residents will defend it and that's what your city council will have to see in order to make it permanent. Chris Hayes recently admitted this on MSNBC shortly after buying an electric bicycle: "You take cars away from any street and it becomes a party."
It's time for tactical urbanism to become widespread. Take matters into your own hands. Sick of cars rampaging down your street? Block the street off on Sunday and call it a block party every week. Then use that as a beachhead to shut down your street on even more days.
You see a bus stop without a bench? Go to Home Depot and put down a bench.
You see a dangerous, unprotected bike lane? Get something like a bollard or planter box, the heavier the better, and put in barriers yourself.
Someone gets killed on a dangerous street and the city council does nothing? Screw it, block the whole street off with heavy barriers or protest with a banner tied up on both sides of the intersection.
Form broad coalitions, starting with your neighbors and friends, especially those who can finance it. Above all, keep the focus on cars and not motorists. Vehicular violence is a systemic problem, not an individual driver behavior problem. People don't choose to drive because it's a better option, they choose to drive because all other alternatives are insufficient or non-existent. That's not an individual's personal preference. So we cannot exclusively try to seduce people out of their cars, rather you must make the car an untenable form of transportation.
I commend the work of climate activists shutting down streets and I give major applause to the work of activists in San Francisco fighting to keep the Great Highway for the people. We have a lot of work to do to reverse decades of fossil fuel and car domination so don't wait.
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions
https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/fast-facts-transportation-greenhouse-gas-emissions
https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/2020-fatality-data-show-increased-traffic-fatalities-during-pandemic
https://www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/child_passenger_safety/cps-factsheet.html
https://www.cdc.gov/injury/features/global-road-safety/index.html
https://www.vitalsigns.mtc.ca.gov/commute-mode-choice
Jeff Byrnes
Good stuff here Darrell! One quibble: let's call them "crashes" not "accidents", b/c there's nothing accidental about them.
TopNewCommunityWhat is The Discourse Lounge?AboutAbout
© 2022 Darrell Owens. See privacy, terms and information collection notice
The Discourse Lounge is on Substack – the place for independent writing


All our products, fans, veils, flutters or streamers, are made of 100% real mulberry silk. We do not use any other material.
Compared to imitation silk and other chemical fibers, silk is smooth, soft and flexible, have good texture. And it is even nutritious to your skin. Silk veils and fan veils are light weighted and flowing, which imitation silk can never be.
Our workers have more than 20 years experience in the hand works, for example hand painting.
Silk veils' edges are hand rolled.
Only in China can you find people who roll the edges of the silk fabric in such a traditional and professional way. And less and less people are willing to do this job because it is very much time consuming, as being done stitch by stitch. Each veil takes at least 30minutes to finish. The famous silk brand Hermès has their silk scarf done in a similar way.
Silk-bamboo studio has never ceased creating new and better products. Over the last 3 years our products variety has grown over 3 times. And we are still creating new items.
Below is an example of how the 2nd generation yellow-green is different from the first generation. More gradient colors, thicker silk!
We have been in this business for over 8years and we will still be at your service as long as I am alive (I am 26). We seek long term business, and only moderate profit to feed our workers who are willing to do the handworks. Now we have long term business partners in many countries.
Many people on eBay asked me to make sure whether the price is for 2 pieces or 1, or if it is real silk. They seem cannot believe the price but it is true. Our price is good, because we seek Long term business and moderate profit. Please refer to my ebay profile to see what buyers say about us.


text:
Q: How can I map a character to a key combination? I'm a bit of a fan of the interrobang (‽), but it obviously is not on my keyboard. How can I map that character to a key combination?

A: In GNOME you can enter unicode characters by type Ctrl+Shift+u+unicode point, followed Space or Enter.
So, type an interrobang, you'd enter Ctrl+Shift+u+2032d+Space.
How cool is that‽ Actually, I think it's a bit clumsy, but it does the job.

A: Another, low-level option to try, especially if you can't get xkb to work is to use xmodmap directly.
The first thing to do would be to get a sense of your current keyboard layout. Open a terminal and type:
xmodmap -pke
This will give you a list of numbered positions on your keyboard and what they are mapped to. E.g., you might see an entry like:
keycode 14 = 5 percent 5 percent
This means that a certain key is mapped to 5 when pressed normally, the percent sign % when pressed with a shift. (And the next two values are for when Mode_shift is active; but let's not get into that right now.
If I wanted to change this key I could type in:
xmodmap -e "keycode 14 = 5 U203D 5 UD203D"
Now, instead of getting a percent sign % when I type shift-5, I get ‽.
That's just an example; probably you don't want to remap % to ‽. But maybe there's some other key you don't use a lot. For example, one nice option might be to remap the shift-Menu instead. So I see from xmodmap -pke that I have:
xmodmap -e "keycode 135 = Menu Menu Menu Menu"
I might make it instead:
xmodmap -e "keycode 135 = Menu U203D Menu U203D"
If I want to make that permanent, just throw it inside some init script that runs automatically, like .profile, .bashrc or .xinitrc, or create your own that Lubuntu loads automatically.
However, it's very important to run xmodmap -pke first to see what your initial set up looks like. Your keycode numbers may well be different from mine. And it's also the best way to see what else is available.
Anyway, that's a very low-level option. If you want a high-level option, look at something like autokey  or xdotool  instead.

A: Another option is to make use of the 'compose' key. Using Ubuntu, choose one in the Keyboard → Layouts → Option configuration (I choose Right Alt). For Kubuntu, go to System Settings → Input Devices → Keyboard → Advanced, check "Configure keyboard options", and then select your chosen key under "Compose key position".
To use the compose key, type Compose + ? + !.
There are lots of useful looking characters you can generate in this way: http://www.hermit.org/Linux/ComposeKeys.html

A: Here's something that works okay:

*

*Install xdotool  (brilliant piece of software by the way)

*go to System → Preferences →
Keyboard Shortcuts

*Add a new shortcut, as the command
choose xdotool key ctrl+shift+u
type "203d "
This is based on Matt's answer, but it will type the keys for you every time you hit the keyboard shortcut (albeit a bit slowly, about 150ms).
To add any other character, go to the gnome character map and search for it; In the status bar you should see the hexadecimal index of the glyph - i.e. "U+203d".
I now have the interrobang mapped to Ctrl+?, see‽ :-)


Gerflor Creation 30. gerflor creation 30 0347 ballerina lame pvc vinyle. gerflor creation 30 0504 twist vinyl designbelag zum. creation 30 x 39 press lvt designbodenbelag. vinylov podlaha gerflor creation royal oak gold. gerflor creation 30 lock 0489 calypso lame pvc clipsable. vinylov podlaha gerflor creation 30 riverside. 16 best images about creation 30 lock on pinterest. gerflor creation 30 madison 0491 inpodlahy cz. gerflor collection 30 mazurka 0349 vinylboden. gerflor creation 30 lock 0593 salsa inpodlahy cz. [S-strawberry.com].