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Tech Blog

Some Quick Tips for Using Scala Futures

    <time>05 January 2015</time>

The Gilt engineering team has been transitioning to the latest version of our in-house library–a move that involves migrating from Guava ListenableFutures to Scala Futures. Futures are a key building block of reactive applications, and offer a really nice API for writing fast, efficient, non-blocking code. However, using them requires some skills that are a bit outside the scope of "traditional" programming.

For all of you who are new to Scala, or not-so-new but unfamiliar with futures, I thought it was worth sharing some thoughts on important things to watch out for when working with them.

Your code should be non-blocking

The easy .get() option, which is available on ListenableFuture, is not available on Scala Future. Instead, you are required to use the deliberately less elegant Await API. This is actually a good thing, as it gives you plenty of time to reconsider the fact that you're blocking, while you're typing it out :) Blocking is strongly discouraged, as it defeats the whole purpose of futures–and there is almost always a better, more efficient way to write the code in a non-blocking way.

Having said all that, there may be times when you have no choice but to block. If you find yourself in this situation, you need to think carefully about which threads you are holding onto while you are blocking. For example, if you're writing a Play application and decide to block the main request thread, then your application will very quickly run out of threads, and throughput will slow to a trickle. This is because the thread you are blocking on is from a very small thread pool that Play makes available for handling incoming requests.

One case where blocking may be acceptable, or even desired, is a background thread–perhaps one that is refreshing a cache. In this case, you can create a fixed-size thread pool for handling the cache refresh and block on this. Since the use of the thread pool is isolated, there is no harm holding onto threads while you wait for a Future to resolve.

Which execution context you use matters

More and more APIs require an execution context to be passed either implicitly or explicitly. For example, the Scala Future.onComplete function is defined as:

def onComplete[U](f: Try[T] => U)(implicit executor: ExecutionContext): Unit

The callback function (f) is executed on a thread from the passed-in execution context. It’s very important to consider what type of operations are executed in f.

For CPU-bound (i.e. non-blocking) operations, you can follow the guidance of the Scala compiler error that you get when you forget to provide the context–namely, importing scala.concurrent.ExecutionContext.Implicits.global. Alternatively, it may be desirable to use a “same thread” execution context.–i.e., the callback executes on the same thread that completes the Future, rather than forcing a hand-off to another thread.

For I/O-bound (i.e. blocking) operations, you should consider providing a different context. The global context by default has only N threads, where N is the number of processors available to the JVM. If you call Await.result on one of the global execution context threads, it will create another thread to compensate. (Its main goal in life is to keep the CPU busy–check out this post for more info.) However, if you're doing a lot of blocking it's better to create your own context with an appropriately-sized Executor and leave the global context available to everybody else for what it was intended for–small CPU-bound tasks.

What happens if a Future fails?

Futures will fail for a variety of reasons: timeouts calling a service, deserialization exceptions, etc. You need to think about what the behaviour should be when this happens. For comprehensions and the operators map, flatMap and foreach may be nice to use, but they can also lull you into a false sense of security. And since Scala doesn't have checked exceptions, you won't get any help from the compiler. Somebody is going to have to deal with the exception at some point. Luckily a Scala Future has really nice APIs like .recover, .recoverWith and .onFailure for handling exceptions and providing fallback behavior.

Futures are a really powerful tool for building fast, efficient, non-blocking applications. The APIs are elegant and simple to use. However, behind the simple APIs lies a world of complexity. It's important to think carefully about how you are using futures and get a good understanding of the basic concepts behind them.

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We met Daniel at our friend's wedding. We loved how natural his pictures looked, so we didn't hesitate when we got engaged. Besides being a great professional, he's an incredible person that makes you feel like "he isn't there", no awkward moments.
He took enough time to get to know us, to see what we liked, what we didn't and how was our wedding location in order to make our big day more relaxed, enjoyable and fast! We didn't want to lose too much time posing, and the pictures he took in the limited time available were splendid.
He answers all your questions with a smile and reassuring words, no matter how many there are.
It's been a pleasure to work with Daniel! We'd choose him over and over!
Daniel was a great choice of photographer for our wedding, from start to finish the attention to detail he was so attentive.
We flew over from England for 24 hours and he kindly met us to discuss how everything would work on the day and the questionnaire about ourselves was a personal touch and very professional in which it helped Daniel to realise what sort of people we are and personalise the photos taken for our wedding. Would highly reccomend!
I met Rebeca & Matt through Skype since there wasn't any other option. She's Salvadoran and he's Australian, and, even though they both live in Chile, they decided to celebrate their wedding in Campillos, a small town in Malaga.
Daniel and his team are great professionals. We didn't want the traditional pictures about the couple posing with friends and relatives without any spontaneity. We wanted a photographic report that would tell the story of our big day and what a better choice than him and his team to capture every moment, every detail. Daniel went to Ubrique and stayed with us all day looking after every detail, helping out all the time. Our guests were so happy to have them there while capturing every detail. I'd choose them over and over! Actually, we did it for the post wedding session in Almeria, another beautiful experience full of spontaneity.
10/10! Very professional and committed. He has a natural and artistic photography style far from the traditional old-fashioned style. He did the engagement session with our friends the evening before the wedding. He took such wonderful pictures, everyone agreed on this. By the way, I totally recommend the "photo crazy" photocall! We had so much fun during the wedding and the result was amazing.


The days are getting shorter and the nights a little crisp.
Here in Zone 4-5 we are savoring the flavors of Fall with the sweet tastes of Winter Squash.
Squash Sunshine 98 Days. Sunshine is a very attractive winter squash that has a sweet, nutty tasting flesh that is smooth and completely stringless. Its bright red-orange rind with thin tan stripes will add color and interest to your fall squash displays. Vigorous, short vines average 8 ft. and produce very good yields of the 3-4 lb. flat-round shaped fruit. Sunshine is well adapted to any location where winter squash can be grown.
100 Days. This is the original strain of the high quality Hubbard squash. Although smaller than the New England strain, it still produces the classic Hubbard shaped fruit and measures 12 in. long by 7 in. in diameter. The 7-10 lb. fruit will have a blue-gray rind and a sweet, fine textured orange flesh.
As the name implies, the shape of acorn squash resembles an acorn. Harris offers the standard dark green acorn as well multi-colored varieties of this winter squash.
85 Days. This is an unusual and colorful hybrid acorn squash. The medium-sized fruit are produced near the crown of the semi-bush plants for easy picking. Their skin is uniquely flecked with shades of green, gold and yellow; each one is different. Carnival stores in fine condition for many months with excellent eating quality. You'll love to grow it and your customers will ask for it by name. Please Note: Color expression is temperature sensitive. Carnival will have less yellow and gold and more green when grown during periods of high temperatures.
Squash Confetti 80 Days. Here's a unique little acorn variety that not only works for fresh market sales but it can also be used as a unique fall decorative squash. Bush plants produce 1-2 lb. fruit that have a classic acorn shape and a unique beige coloring that is striped and mottled with dark green. Its sweet, orange flesh is less stringy and drier than a typical acorn and has an excellent eating quality.
Buttercup squash is a popular type of winter squash, known for its high quality, dry flesh. These varieties have a flattish top and are dark green in color.
85 Days. Bonbon is a buttercup squash with a space-saving, upright, semi-bush plant habit. It is a full week earlier to mature than most other buttercup types and has a thick orange flesh that is very sweet and creamy when cooked.Tolerant to powdery mildew.
100 days. Although a squash, Galeaux d'Eysines is unlike any other squash and will add much interest and uniqueness to any garden. Each fruit has pinkish skin with a sweet, moist, orange flesh, however as it matures peanut-like warts start to develop on their shells. Traditionally used for soups and sauces the 10-20 lb. oblate-flattened shaped fruit are produced on full-size vines.
110 Days. Long, prolific vines produce 2-3' long fruit that weigh between 10-20 pounds. The banana-shaped fruit turn pinkish-orange when mature and have a firm, sweet, yellow-orange flesh that is excellent for pies, baking, and canning.
110 Days. This old heirloom variety is from the U.S. Seed Bank and has an appearance that is perfect for specialty, roadside and farmer's markets fall displays. Its bright orange fruit are heavily warted and can weigh up to 20 lbs. This squash makes a great decorative item but it is also known for its good eating quality and has a Hubbard type flesh and a very hard, thick rind.
110 Days. This unusual winter squash produces spaghetti-like strands of flesh, which add interesting variety to your fall and winter offering. The oblong fruit are 8-10 in. long and turn yellow when ripe. Vegetable Spaghetti is a good keeper and can be stored for several months. Try it for something a little different this year.
103 Days. This distinctive squash has a loyal following throughout the country. Consumers appreciate the smooth, fine texture of its golden-yellow flesh. The medium-sized fruit average 10-15 lbs. and the flesh is extra-thick. Round and quite flattened with a hard, slate-gray rind, these high quality squash keep for many months in storage.
In a large microwave safe dish combine squash, onions and butter. Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Peel squash. Stir in broth and cook on high for another 20 to 25 minutes, or until squash is tender. Puree squash, onions and broth in a food processor or blender. Add cream, salt and pepper, and microwave on high for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until heated through. Flavor with nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon to taste.
In a large saucepan coated with cooking spray, cook and stir onion in butter over medium heat until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add the squash, broth, apple, water, thyme and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until squash is tender. Cool slightly.
In a blender, process soup in batches until smooth. Return all to the pan; stir in cream and heat through (do not boil). Yield: 6 servings.
Reduce oven to 350° F and position an oven rack in the center of the oven. In a mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat the squash with the brown sugar. Add eggs, evaporated milk, spices salt, flour, butter, and vanilla. Beat until well blended. Pour the filling into the chilled pie and place on the center oven rack. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until set. Check after about 35 minutes and loosely set a ring of foil or a pie crust protector over the browned crust so it won't get too dark. When the filling is set, transfer the pie to a rack to cool. Serve just warm or at room temperature with a dollop of whipped topping or whipped cream.
Baking Squash is my favorite way to prepare it .
Cut your squash in to quarters place them in a baking dish skin down with just a little water..
Add butter and brown sugar to the raw squash. cover them with foil and bake until tender. for an added spice try grating fresh nutmeg and ginger on the squash...or just plain is delicious as well...Enjoy!
All information and photos for Winter Squash were provided by Harris Seed company.


My girlfriend M and I have been watching this site for some time and think we are ready for our first post. This pictures are from our last trip when I also convinced her to do some car dares. I feel she is starting to open up a bit and our relationship is geting spicier. If you like what you see then please let us know and send us sugestions or beginners dares.


text:
Q: Generating a Random Selection from Multiple Sections in a Spreadsheet I've been wanting to do like the creator of Aeon of Strife did to Starcraft (or Defense of the Ancients to Warcraft III) by jerry-rigging elements of Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition into a more Rogue-like system. I've recorded all the class features for the system in a spreadsheet. I'm looking for a solution that will pick, in sequence: a section of the spreadsheet with a defined row and column limit, a row within that section, a column within that row, then print what's in that cell. I'm unaware of how different Excel and LibreOffice Calc are for syntax and mathematic functionality, I'm using LibreOffice, if you know how to solve my issue in Excel I'd appreciate that as well.
I haven't really tried to solve this issue, as I don't personally know how to use the mathematic functions of spreadsheets.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


I've reported this major bug on Ubuntu bug tracker here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/1734147 please reply if you are affected too.
If you cannot see the post, login in and then search the post named: "Ubuntu 17.10 corrupting BIOS - many LENOVO laptops models"
Mod's Comment: Please do not start multiple posts on same issue as this only splinters the discussion. Instead, keep your current discussion updated with any additional information. Your duplicate has been removed. Thanks !
I know this is an extreme solution, but I hope I can help someone find a simpler solution.
Mod's Edit: OP had two threads on same issue. Merged this reply into existing discussion.
Same problem with lenovo G50-70. After upgraded to ubuntu 17.10 bios cannot be changed. I cannot see USB boot option.
I have a CD-rom on my PC but I cannot boot from CD either. Any help ? Or will I have to use windows 8 forever ?
After upgrade to ubuntu 17.10 I had problem and had to delete linux and got back windows 8.
Disaster, i managed to resolved by reflashing my BIOS.
2 Ways of doing it.
I'm on a lenovo B40-70 with Ubuntu 17.10, which was upgraded from ubuntu 17.04. Facing these exact same issues.
Ideapad 105, same issues. So happy to have found others have the same problem, this has been driving me insane!
I had ubuntu installed and since then i cannot access bios settings.
laptop just boots to "Ubuntu boot entry not found", also tried removing HDD and Ram as told and still no luck.
Tried clean install Ubuntu 17.10 on IdealPad 110-15ISK had similar experience with weird bios issue. In fact at one point I boot into bios and got all the hidden settings displayed. Things like over clocking CPU, and other clock settings. Many new menu's not typically shown. I set everything to default settings and hoped for the best. Lucky on re boot bios came back with just clock and date off. Yes, something really wrong here with bios being so profoundly affected. I managed to get back to Windows 10 through USB install image. Definately not trying Ubuntu for a while. A long while.
I tried B method but no luck. Does USB drive need to be formated specificaly? Or just copy the isflash.fd file to it ?


text:
Cyclone Jawad to weaken gradually during next 6 hours, spares India's east coast havoc
Image for representation | AFP
In a relief for Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal, cyclonic storm 'Jawad' weakened into a deep depression on Saturday and is likely weaken further into a depression by the time it reaches Puri on Sunday, the India Meteorological Department said.
The cyclonic storm weakened into a deep depression and lay centered over west-central Bay of Bengal, about 180 km east-southeast of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, and 330 km south-southwest of Puri, Odisha at 5:30 pm, the Met office said in a statement.
"It is likely to move north-northeastwards and weaken further into a depression by tomorrow morning. It is likely to reach near Puri around tomorrow noon. Subsequently, it is likely to continue to move north-northeastwards along the coast of Odisha towards the coast of West Bengal and weaken into a well marked low pressure area during the subsequent 24 hours," it said.
Saudi Arabia has given the cyclone its name 'Jawad' -- the liberal or merciful.
A low-pressure area had developed over the Andaman Sea on November 30.
It intensified into a depression on December 2 and further into a deep depression on Friday morning. It turned into a cyclone on Friday noon, the IMD said.
The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places over Gangetic West Bengal and north Odisha on Sunday, and heavy rainfall at isolated places over Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura on Sunday and Monday.
Sea conditions will remain unsafe for shipping and fishermen in the central and north Bay of Bengal till Sunday.
Watch video: People vacate Odisha's Puri beach in wake of Cyclone Jawad threat
Iris scanners in the dock as IBPS candidates claim infection, no sanitization of the device

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This panorama captures the much anticipated, nationally televised matchup between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Notre Dame Fightin' Irish, ending with a final score of ASU 55, Notre Dame 31. With 65,870 fans in attendance, the entire Sun Devil family, including season ticket holders, fans, students, alumni and the Valley community, were present to cheer on their team at Sun Devil Stadium at Frank Kush Field. This was only the fourth time these two teams have met and only the second time Notre Dame has played in Tempe. The game photographed here marked the last one to be played between the two teams.


text:
70-Year-Old Marathoner Who Set World Record Is Accused of Cheating
News 12:55 PM PDT, July 3, 2019 - Inside Edition Staff
12:55 PM PDT, July 3, 2019 - Inside Edition Staff
A retired doctor stunned the world when he shattered the record for his age group at the Los Angeles Marathon in March.
But, officials said, it was a lie.
Frank Meza, 70, finished the marathon with an official time of 2:53:10, more than an hour ahead of the next closest person in his age group.
After an investigation, however, Meza was disqualified. Marathon officials said in a statement that cameras posted along the race capture Meza "re-entering the course from a position other than where he left it."
"The video evidence is confirmed by a credible eyewitness report and our calculation that Dr. Meza's actual running time for at least one 5K course segment would have had to have been faster than the current 70-74 age group 5K world-record," the statement read, calling that an "impossible feat during a marathon."
Marathon officials say an image shows Meza stepping off a sidewalk and joining the race. Later, he's again spotted coming from a sidewalk and re-entering the race.
Meza, however, denies the allegations of cheating, saying he merely left the course in search of a bathroom, running on the sidewalk as he did so.
"I didn't cut the course," he told the Los Angeles Times.
The Los Angeles Marathon has offered to let Meza run the 2020 race with an observer alongside him.
"That's my only silver lining," he said.
It's not the first time Meza has been disqualified from a marathon. In 2014 and 2016, he was disqualified from the California International Marathon for irregular splits. He was then banned from the race.
Bear Crossing a Road Brings Marathon to a Stunning Stop
Blind Marathoner Makes History by Completing NYC Half Led by Guide Dogs
Instagrammer Denies Accusations That She Cheated in Half-Marathon
The Breakdown: Why ASMR Videos Make Your Brain Tingle


text:
December 10, 2021 August 12, 2022 Author by Zackary KephartPosted in Favorite Hit Songs, Year End Lists
Like with yesterday's list of the worst hit songs of the year, I'm in somewhat uncharted territory with its sibling list of the best hit songs of the year. I'll save the lengthy introduction explaining the criteria and everything else again, but if you're curious as to what the differences are between this list and, say, my lists I made for 2018 or 2019, I'd suggest you go back and read that.
Also important to note, however, is that this list is remarkably different from what will be my eventual list of my top 50 songs of the year – which will span everything from well-known singles to underground deep-cuts and treasures alike. This, much like the aforementioned worst hits of the year list, is focused on the hits, namely songs that peaked within the top 20 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart sometime in 2021. I'll say right now that there's one song where I bent the rules to include a song that will likely fit better here than for 2022.
As for a brief widespread analysis before we get started … well, considering there are years in the 2010s where I'm not sure I could even put together a legitimate top 10 of songs I liked from that year, I will say things are slightly improving at country radio. But the systemic issues still remain, and I wouldn't really say there's much that wowed me, outside of a few cuts near the top. The genre – at least in the mainstream – feels oddly transitional right now, and yet I can't say that affected this list all that much, unlike its aforementioned sibling list. Like with that list, there will be no honorable mentions, so let's get started.
No. 10 – Justin Moore, "We Didn't Have Much" (written by Randy Montana, Jeremy Stover, and Paul DiGiovanni)
In a just world, I'd be talking about Runaway June's "We Were Rich" here instead. But quiet, reflective neotraditional country music is a solid fit for Justin Moore, and though his career somewhat seems like it's on a downswing, this song is fairly likable as a whole. I've always appreciated its heavier reliance on atmospherics to let the groove ride and the warm mixture of tempered acoustics and bass, pedal steel and firm percussion settle nicely. Yes, it's another song pining for nostalgia that's somewhat relegated to stock images at points, but it's placed more around the familial aspects that are nearly universal in their appeal, and it did grow a lot on me as the year progressed. Remarkably solid as a whole, and I'd gladly welcome more from Moore in this general vein.
No. 9 – Kenny Chesney, "Knowing You" (written by Adam James, Brett James, and Kat Higgins)
I'm slightly cheating with this one, but only because it's around a week away from peaking, and it's from an album released in mid-2020. It's also another track that grew on me, mostly because it's a solid ballad with a pretty good hook, and also because mature reflection is a good fit for Kenny Chesney at this point in his career. The writing isn't that detailed, I admit, but there's a convincing wistfulness to both Chesney's delivery and the tempered acoustics and electric guitars, all of which shows him reflecting on a past moment long gone yet still remembered with relatable fondness. It's a track that literally comes and goes, and considering that's all it's meant to do, even if he'd gladly do it all again if given the chance… yeah, it was good knowing this track this year.
No. 8 – Chris Stapleton, "Starting Over" (written by Chris Stapleton and Mike Henderson)
OK, it's the third of three tracks thus far that grew on me, if only because a rollicking, chipper mid-tempo cut from Chris Stapleton is usually bound to blow away most other things on the radio on sheer talent alone. But this isn't really trying for sheer power anyway; it's Stapleton's ode to finding inner peace and charting new roads ahead for both him and his family, all against little more than a prominent and slightly faster acoustic line and very subtle touches of organ. And while it's very easy to see it as a pandemic song – especially given that it was released in August of last year – I remember "Nashville, TN" as well, a fantastic deep-cut about severing ties with Nashville. It's forgiveness of one's self that reflects a lot of subtle power beneath, and if you truly want to start over, sometimes you need that leap of faith to jump in and stick the landing. It's a sentiment I grew to like more and more as the year went on, and as for what's next from this rejuvenation, well … I'm certainly excited.
No. 7 – Kelsea Ballerini, "hole in the bottle" (written by Ashley Gorley, Steph Jones, Hillary Lindsey, Jesse Frasure, and Kelsea Ballerini)
I'm somewhat torn on this choice, admittedly. I've always considered Kelsea Ballerini's brand of pop-country underrated on her best cuts, and while I wouldn't place "hole in the bottle" necessarily within that camp, the fusion of prominent slide guitar and rickety-sounding pop production works better than expected across the board. For a song about getting drunk on wine to try and run away from one's feelings after a breakup, it being a mishmash of styles also somewhat supports the content, oddly enough. But there's also an acoustic remix of this that I'd argue is a fair bit better, even if the general devil-may-care attitude shines either way. Still a fun song regardless, and considering Ballerini has an even better single climbing the charts right now, I expect to see her back on this list next year.
No. 6 – Miranda Lambert, "Settling Down" (written by Luke Dick, Natalie Hemby, and Miranda Lambert)
Look, I'm still not much of a fan of Wildcard, and there's a part of me that's incredibly thankful she righted her course with The Marfa Tapes and that "If I Was a Cowboy" is a great introduction into whatever is next for her. Of course, before the course correction comes the moment of questioning how to get there, and that's largely where "Settling Down," well, settles. I'm still not wild about some of the sandier production touches, but I like the weariness that comes through in her questioning where she'll lay down her roots – to settle down or continue on a life on the road filled with endless wandering. It's not her best song within this vein, but when said songs are some of the best within mainstream country music over the past few decade or so, that says something, and this is still pretty great on its own.
No. 5 – Tenille Arts, "Somebody Like That" (written by Allison Veltz Cruz, Alex Kline, and Tenille Arts)
Because of the politics surrounding radio hits these days, I'm pleasantly surprised that this became an unlikely No. 1 hit this year, especially when it's, you know, a damn good song. It's euphoric country-pop carried by a supremely great hook further benefited by a strong crescendo for the chorus. And to my surprise, even the production nails what it's going for well, with a faster groove balance and sweeping, glittering tones that contribute to the huge swell this love song is trying to capture. Granted, while that's been enough for me since the moment I heard it, it's more than just a fairy-tale romance. There's a general maturity in Tenille Arts' admittance of how she's chased relationships she thought would lead to love and just didn't, all carried by the hopeful optimism that she'll find a love she deserves, all in due time. I'm not much of a fan of where's she taken her sound since this single, but this was a hugely deserved breakthrough.
No. 4 – Carly Pearce, "Next Girl" (written by Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally, Carly Pearce)
The moment that incendiary hook kicked in, I think everyone knew this was a much different Carly Pearce than the artist we had heard before. 29: Written in Stone confirmed that later on, but this was the needed first step that remains a highlight to this day, all the way from the sharper strumming accompanying the faster tempo to Pearce's equally biting delivery. She's also the only mainstream country artist to consistently employ the dobro and give it prominence – she's always won me over for that. And yet, there's something I didn't notice about this song until I heard the album it stems from as a whole, which was as much about Pearce's divorce as it was Pearce herself, be it through her own culpability in the downfall of her marriage or her reflection on her own place in life. That even-handed framing is also here, where she's prepared to warn the next girl about her ex-partner's intentions, but also feels she should have done more to save herself and see the signs earlier. Again, it's a fantastic start to the next chapter of Pearce's career, and considering her duet with Ashley McBryde is looking thus far like it'll be the biggest hit to date for both artists, there's even more to come.
No. 3 – Elvie Shane, "My Boy" (written by Elvie Shane, Lee Starr, Nick Columbia, Russell Sutton)
I remember listening to this out of morbid curiosity last year, thoroughly expecting to hear something different than what I actually eventually heard. You know the song and dance – generic male country artist has his 15 minutes of time with a radio hit and fades away into the night. And with a song called "My Boy" … well, I didn't expect to be talking about Elvie Shane again anytime soon. To my pleasant surprise, however, Shane is actually pretty good, and "My Boy" is an excellently written song in the vein of, say, Brad Paisley's "He Didn't Have to Be," told instead from the stepfather's own perspective. What's always struck me most is the well-balanced framing, not only in the textured production that lets the acoustics shine with a bit of a rougher edge, but also in the way Shane assesses the impact he's had on his stepson thus far. It's genuinely organic in both sound and intent, and with a generally sweet but still lived-in, rough delivery, this became the surprise hit next to Tenille Arts' "Somebody Like That" I was glad to see happen. I hope to see more, too.
No. 2 – Eric Church, "Hell of a View" (written by Casey Beathard, Eric Church and Monty Criswell)
There's a part of me that knows I shouldn't like this as much as I do. It's the conventional, radio-friendly second single from an Eric Church album that always tends to scan as solid and help propel the album, but does little beyond that. "Hell of a View," however, has simply remained a welcome exception to that rule. Sure, it's a pretty standard tale of devotion, but it actually gives the other partner a significant role by framing both her and Church's characters as equals trying to make it together, both of whom are each a little idiosyncratic. And despite the polished edges, I love the deeper production balance emphasized in the atmospheric-sounding guitars and keys that adds a surprising amount of ragged punch but also conveys the simultaneous joy and anguish of that journey thus far. It's an earnestly rough-edged love song that gets adventurous without relying on posturing or machismo to get there, instead just letting it come naturally. And I like enough that it, along with my No. 1 entry, just might also make my list of the top songs of the year in general. For now, let's examine that other possible entry, shall we?
No. 1 – Lainey Wilson, "Things A Man Oughta Know" (written by Jason Nix, Jonathon Singleton, and Lainey Wilson)
It's kind of sad that, outside of a few critics and fans within specific online country music circles, Lainey Wilson still remains something of an unknown entity within mainstream country music. And that was the weird thing about being a new artist in 2021 – with only limited touring options for a good chunk of the year to build or possibly further an organic groundswell, certain artists had to rely on radio to find that breakthrough point. For Wilson specifically, her debut album didn't quite achieve that breakthrough, but she found a deserved one in "Things A Man Oughta Know," easily her best song to date and the best song to reach the top of the charts all year, and one that hopefully won't be her last.
Now, to get out of the way the one element I don't like about the song, I don't like that the entire verse is devoted to a checklist, clichéd rundown of things men are "supposed" to know how to do that she can do as well, but what unfolds afterward is something special. It's a breakup song, but also one where the hurt is implied and the delivery unfolds line by line – even if a significant other doesn't know what love means in the moment, if the relationship truly means something to them, they should try and learn along the way. And yet, circling back to that first verse, I've somewhat begun to understand the intent. She understands that a stereotypical (but still somewhat true) tough-guy stoicism can create an unintentional distance between two partners out of stubborn pride and that's why I love how the frustration on her end is always more heavily implied than spelled straight out. Wilson can sell it all wonderfully, too. Her understated delivery balances excellently against the mandolin and bass to give this track a generally warm rollick and confidence to support that wry hook, but also emphasizes the bitterness with how those lessons learned came to be. In other words, it's excellently delivered on all levels, and if there's one thing I do know, it's that this is my pick for the best hit song of 2021.
Carly PearceChris StapletonElvie ShaneEric ChurchJustin MooreKelsea BalleriniKenny ChesneyLainey WilsonMiranda LambertTenille Arts
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Next: Next post: Favorite Songs of 2021
2 thoughts on "Favorite Hit Country Songs of 2021"
Fantastic stuff, Zack! #10, #7, #5, and #3 were new to me.
-"We Didn't Have Much" obviously doesn't break new ground thematically, but an endearing performance by Moore and a nice throwback sound make this a keeper. He's always been a little inconsistent but when he's good, he's good. "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away" is one of the best singles of the last decade IMO.
-OMG, "Hole in the Bottle" is catchy AF. I've listened to it like six times tonight, lol. No joke. I've never really listened to Kelsea Ballerini before so you'll have to tell me what some of her better songs are.
-I've also listened to "Somebody Like That" several times already! Not the most original song lyrically but I love that melody and think she's a got a great voice with a lot of character.
-'Heart & Soul' are still in my backlog so this was my first time hearing "Hell of a View." Not the deepest or most original thing lyrically (I'm sensing a trend here, I guess that's kind of baked in the cake when it comes to radio singles), but a great production and passionate vocal performance – par for the course for Church – result in a winner.
I heard "My Boy" the first time the other day and was very impressed. That's a great example of how you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
Overall, I agree that these are all strong songs, and I concur with "Things a Man Oughta Know" being #1. I think Lainey's performance is the most celebratory aspect of the song – not to say the lyrics are bad, but I just think it's her delivery and the character of her voice that make the song magical.
Anyway, seems like a pretty decent year for mainstream country radio! Of course, I haven't heard most of your "Worst Hits Songs" yet, so perhaps I shouldn't speak too soon!
It's kind of funny – I go from absolutely loving numbers 1-4, to really, really liking numbers 5-7, to just sort of having numbers 8-10 because they're pretty pleasant, lol.
Which is all to say that, yeah, it was actually a surprisingly decent year for mainstream country music, especially when I am, again, solely judging the hits.
Glad you found some new stuff to enjoy, though! Regarding Kelsea Ballerini … again, most of her material is pop-country aimed at a younger audience, but I do think she's matured with her music. I'd check out "Half of My Hometown" with Kenny Chesney and "Secondhand Smoke," just for starters!
Yeah, aside from "My Boy," I wouldn't say any of these are real standouts lyrically, but they do what they need to, IMO. And no, no need to check out anything on the worst list unless you're morbidly curious! Haha.


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Q: Coroutines working on Android emulator but not in real device I have been dealing with a problem trying to synchronize the remote and local datasources operations with coroutines that only happens when I run the app in a real device, in the AS emulator everything works fine. I have tried to follow all the guides, codelabs and samples Google propose to follow the same structures and architectures and the result is always the same: working on the emulator, failing on the real device. I have tried with two different real devices with different OS versions and both of them fail.
What I'm trying to achieve is just perform a request to an API (through retrofit) and save the result in the DB. When executing from real device and using the debugger, it seems that at some point something is executed and the app crashes or do nothing. My code:
RetrofitService:
@GET("product/{id}")
    suspend fun getFoodByBarCode(@Path("id") id: String): FoodSchema

RemoteDataSource: None of this exceptions are thrown at any moment
class FoodRemoteDataSource(private val foodService: FoodService) {

    suspend fun getFoodByBarCode(code: String): Result<Food> = performRequest(RemoteMapper()) { foodService.getFoodByBarCode(code) }

    private suspend fun <T, R> performRequest(modelMapper: BaseMapper<T, R>, call: suspend () -> T): Result<R> {
        try {
            val response = call()
            if(response != null) return Result.Success(modelMapper.execute(response)) else throw Exception("The server response is null")
        } catch (e: Exception) {
            throw e
        }
    }

Database DAO
@Query("SELECT * FROM food")
    fun observeAllFood(): LiveData<List<Food>>

@Insert(onConflict = OnConflictStrategy.REPLACE)
    fun insertFood(food: Food)

LocalDataSource
class FoodLocalDataSource(
    private val foodDao: FoodDao,
    private val ioDispatcher: CoroutineDispatcher = Dispatchers.IO) : FoodDataSource {

    override fun observeAllFood(): LiveData<Result<List<Food>>> {
        return foodDao.observeAllFood().map { Success(it) }
    }

    override suspend fun saveFood(food: Food) =
        withContext(ioDispatcher) { foodDao.insertFood(food) }

Repository
class FoodRepository(private val localDataSource: FoodLocalDataSource,
                     private val remoteDataSource: FoodRemoteDataSource) : FoodDataSource {

    override fun observeAllFood(): LiveData<Result<List<Food>>> {
        return localDataSource.observeAllFood()
    }

    suspend fun fetchFoodByBarCode(barCode: String) {
        val result = remoteDataSource.getFoodByBarCode(barCode)
        if(result.succeeded) saveFood((result as Result.Success).data)
    }

    override suspend fun saveFood(food: Food) {
        localDataSource.saveFood(food)
    }
}

ViewModel
class FoodListViewModel(private val foodRepository: FoodRepository) : BaseViewModel() {

    private val _foodList = requestFoodList()
    val foodList: LiveData<List<Food>> = _foodList

    private fun requestFoodList(): LiveData<List<Food>> {
        showLoading()
        return foodRepository.observeAllFood().distinctUntilChanged()
            .switchMap { extractResult(it) }
    }

    fun fetchFoodByBarCode(barCode: String) {
        launchDataLoad { foodRepository.fetchFoodByBarCode(barCode) }
    }

    private fun <T : Any> extractResult(
        result: Result<T>,
        autoHideLoading: Boolean = true
    ): LiveData<T> {
        val mutableLiveData = MutableLiveData<T>().apply { value = null }
        if (autoHideLoading) hideLoading()
        when (result) {
            is Result.Success -> {
                mutableLiveData.value = result.data!!
            }
            is Result.Error -> {
                _error.value = true
                mutableLiveData.value = null
            }
        }
        return mutableLiveData
    }
}

My activity just observe the foodList to populate a RecyclerView and calls the fetchFoodByBarCode() when a button is clicked.
Any idea what is wrong? Thanks in advance!


The Momentum Squeeze (MOMS) strategy is a day trading strategy. The strategy can be applied in different time frames. A 30-minute time frame is the most popular. MOMS combines the useful concept of 'momentum' with a strategy called BB Squeeze. BB Squeeze, and as a consequence also MOMS, identifies intervals of very low volatility based on the relationship between Bollinger bands and Keltner bands. The MOMS strategy merits to be studied in detail.
Some traders use the MOMS strategy for shares. In the case of shares it is advisable to only use the strategy for swing trading by working on charts with time frame 1 day.
The MOMS strategy combines volatility (price fluctuations) and momentum (the speed of price changes). When the volatility is low for a continued period of time, traders assume that a break-out is imminent. The volatility is judged by the relationship between the Bollinger bands and the Keltner bands. However, simply opening a position on the occurrence of continued low volatility is premature. This is where momentum comes into play. Given that a break-out is usually characterized by accelerating price changes, the relevant momentum might indicate when a break-out of the low volatility interval is starting.
In the chart periods with low volatility are shown as solid, red lines. The momentum is shown as a green histogram. Signals occur when this histogram crosses the zero line upwards or downwards during a period of low volatility.
In this example the momentum crosses the line upwards. This is a buy signal. The trader does not buy immediately upon the cross occurring. He waits for confirmation. Only when candle A is complete a position is bought at the opening price of candle B.
This example is similar to the previous example. A buy signal occurs when the momentum histogram crosses the zero line during a period of low volatility. A position is bought at the opening price of candle B.
In this example there are two periods of low volatility. During neither period the momentum histogram crosses the zero line. So in both cases there is no trading signal.
In this example the momentum histogram crosses the zero line at the same time when a period of low volatility is identified. This is not considered a signal to open a position. The longer the low volatility continues, the higher the probability of a break-out. Hence it is not necessary to act upon these premature signals when low volatility has just been identified.
In this example the timeframe is set at 4 hours. The first time the momentum crosses the zero line coincides with the beginning of the low volatility period. This is not a signal. No position is opened. The next signal is a buy signal. This is a valid signal.
It is possible that within the same period of low volatility two or more buy/sell signals occur. All these signals can be acted upon on the condition that the open position based on the last signal has been closed.
Attention. MOMS is at its best after a continued period of low volatility. This frequently occurs on those CFDs which quote 24h/24 (CAC, DAX, AEX, Nikkei, SP 500, Nasdaq, Dow Jones en FTSE 100). In the morning, when the markets become active again, these 24h CFDs will often show a nice break-out. This break-out can be exploited with the MOMS strategy.
The MOMS strategy uses a target price and a stop. Both target and stop are determined on the basis of the ATR (average true range). The ATR reflects the intrinsic volatility of a financial instrument. Each instrument has a different ATR. The ATR is not constant, it evolves over time. When determining target and stop traders should aim for a return/risk ratio of two or more. If, for example, the target is set at as 2x ATR 14 then the maximum stop is 1x ATR 14.
This example shows a target of 2x ATR and a stop of 1x ATR. The target is reached. The position is closed with a profit.
Attention. The WHS_ATR_Bands tool calculates 1/2 , 1 , 1 ½ and 2 ATR bands above and below the candle on the basis of the high and low of the candle. Traders can also calculate their ATR-based targets and stops on the basis of their entry price.
The MOMS trading strategy detects intervals characterized by low volatility and accelerating price changes. The strategy can be applied in different time frames and is suitable for day trading and swing trading. Market indices, forex pairs and shares can all be used for trading.
Open a chart with the study "WHS MOMS".


text:
Housing policy forms a significant part of the political parties' manifestos for the upcoming General Election taking place on 12 December 2019.
The property market could see some big changes depending on the results of the General Election and this would affect tenants of rental properties, first-time buyers, those looking to move up the property ladder, property investors and businesses.
Below, we consider the specific promises, policies and pledges which will have an impact on the housing and property sector.
Conservatives:
The Conservatives pledge to build at least one million more homes within the next five years to help first-time buyers and boost private house building and confirm a commitment to ensure that new GP and school places are available ahead of people moving into new build housing. They intend to extend the Help to Buy Scheme from 2021 to 2023 and maintain the Right to Buy scheme which enables social tenants to build up an equity. The Conservatives encourage long-term and lifetime fixed rate mortgages, to be available with a 5% deposit. This would mean mortgage payments would remain consistent and allow people to get onto the property ladder. They pledge to abolish no fault (Section 21) evictions which currently allow Landlord's to evict renters without a reason after their fixed-term tenancy period ends. Introduction of an increase in Stamp Duty for non-UK resident buyers, including Companies. They intend to allow Local Authorities to increase Council Tax by up to 500% where homes are left empty for more than six months. They pledge to simplify shared ownership schemes by setting a single standard for all housing associations.
Labour pledge to build 150,000 new social homes a year within five years, 100,000 of which are to be built by Councils.
Labour intends to introduce a phased increase in Corporation Tax to 32% which may put many small businesses and private investors under pressure. They also pledge to charge foreign companies and trusts extra tax when buying property in the UK. Labour wish to abolish to Right to Buy scheme, and give new powers and funding for councils to buy back former council houses from private landlords. Labour state that £1 billion a year will be provided for council homelessness services and extra shelters and that they will build 8,000 homes for people with a history of rough sleeping, with a pledge to end rough sleeping in five years. They promise to scrap Universal Credit, the Bedroom Tax and Benefit Cap, while increasing Local Housing Allowance rates. Labour will introduce rent controls as well as introducing 'open-ended' tenancies rather than fixed-term tenancies, to give renters greater security and certainty. The Help to Buy scheme would be reformed.
Liberal Democrats:
The Liberal Democrats focus includes plans to help young people with their tenancy deposits by establishing a Help to Rent Scheme. This would provide a government-backed tenancy deposit loan for all first-time renters under 30. They pledge to ensure total housebuilding reaches 300,000 a year by 2024, with 100,000 social rented houses. They intend to allow Local Authorities to increase Council Tax by up to 500% for second homes and introduce a Stamp Duty surcharge on overseas residents purchasing second homes in the UK. Liberal Democrats will improve protection against for tenants with mandatory licensing and promote longer tenancies of three years or more with inflation linked annual rent increases.
It is clear that the Property market will see some significant changes depending on which way the General Election goes and that there is a focus on increasing housebuilding, making the market more accessible for first time buyers and those looking to move up the property ladder and making the market fairer for tenants.


A Breakfast Program is offered daily at the High School, Oak and Sherwood Middle Schools and Coolidge Elementary before the school day begins.Breakfast is served on 1/2 days. Breakfast is not served at the other Elementary Schools. A variety of cereals, fruits, pastries, morning breads, juice and milk are offered daily. All meals meet the USDA requirements for good nutrition. The cost of breakfast is $2.00. Families with financial need may qualify for a reduced price breakfast at $.30 or a free breakfast.
A Lunch Program is offered daily at all schools. A minimum of four entrees are offered daily. In addition a variety of sandwiches, milks, 100% juices, fruits, vegetables and a salad bar are offered daily. All meals meet the USDA nutritional guidelines. The cost of lunch is $3.25 at the Elementary Schools, $3.50 at the Middle Schools and $3.75 at the High School.
The Meal Magic Point of Sale System is available at all schools. This system allows parents to put money on their child's account for meal or a-la-carte purchases. Any amount of money can be added to a student's account. This system eliminates the need for cash or tickets. Cash can be used for purchases. Parents can send a check or cash with their child to give to the cafeteria cashier at their school. The cashier will add this money to the student's account. Checks should be made out to the Food Service Department. In the check memo section note the child's name whose account should be credited. To take advantage of monthly promotions offered by the Food Service Department checks must be mailed to the Food Service Department 64 Holden Street Shrewsbury, Ma. 01545. Monthly promotions cannot be applied at the schools. Checks or cash will be credited at face value at the schools.
A kindergarten snack program is available to Full Day students.
Both a snack and a beverage are delivered to your child's classroom daily. The cost of the snack and beverage is $165.00 for the 2019-2020 year.Forms are located under the Form Tab.
An after hour meal program is available daily for students. Students must order their meal by 8AM of the day the meal is requested. Bag meals include a sandwich, beverage, snack and fruit. Bagged meals cost $4.00. Order forms are available at the school store, the cafeteria and in the serving area. Click here for High School Meals to Go Form.
Free and reduced price meals are available to students if there is financial need. Applications are available on line: lunchapp.com at the Food Service Web Site. Applications must be submitted yearly in the fall. If you need an application at any time during the year or help filling the application out call the Food Service Office at 508-841-8819 and one will be mailed to you. Eligibility is governed by guidelines set by the Department of Education. Notification will be sent to all families stating what program they qualify for.
Each school site has a manager also available to speak with you. The numbers are as follows.


Are you looking for a fun, productive, safe after school program for your kids? We think your best choice in McKinney is after school karate lessons at Professional Black Belt Academy. Our after school McKinney karate alternative to daycare provides fun, healthy programs that kids love.
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To learn more about our McKinney after school karate lessons, call the location most convenient to you or come by to visit and sign your child up. Find out about our adult programs as well!


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text:
The Sit Down: Zviad Adzinbaia and the Information War against the Kremlin
Zviad is the Founder and Head of the Digital Diplomacy Task Force. Source: Digital Diplomacy Task Force
The Kremlin and its information campaign across the region is a well-known, and well-funded, propaganda machine. They have crafted a "product" with decades of experience in how to manipulate popular opinion in favor of their agenda. This product has been exported with varying success around the world.
Despite this, many have taken to combatting their efforts, particularly with Russia's attempt to garner support for their vicious invasion of Ukraine. Combined with their brutal repression of dissent domestically and in occupied territories, the fight against this disinformation is a difficult one. One organization has started a unique approach to this proverbial crusade.
Zviad Adzinbaia is the founder of the Digital Diplomacy Task Force. He leads a team of experienced cyber, media, and digital diplomacy aimed at helping Ukraine resist their portrayal by Russian media. GEORGIA TODAY sat down with Zviad to explore the man, the mission, and the challenges he faces now and in the future.
What's your personal take on the information environment surrounding the ongoing war in Ukraine?
I would say it is very hot. For the Ukrainian side, they are fighting a defensive war and any reaction they have is justified against the Russians. When it comes to the Russian side, they failed to meet the expectations we had in terms of getting an upper hand in the information war. What we're focusing on is the Russian assets in European and American based social media and digital platforms. RT, Sputnik, and Ruptly are selling content to these Western networks.
Russia's information environment operates globally. They can take it from South Africa, to India, and then into somewhere these EU bans are not applicable. That's what has determined our thinking in taking further action against these Russian accounts. That's the trigger that the Digital Diplomacy Task Force, that I proudly represent, engages in the field.
Tell us about your team.
Our team was formed for one reason, and that reason is Ukraine. We are committed to the idea that Ukraine is fighting a just defensive war for not only their sovereignty, but sovereignty as a broader concept. They're fighting for Georgia, for Europe, for the United States, and the rest of the free world.
Professionally, we have a team of over 10 that have been working for over three months, pro bono, donating their time proudly. We help Ukraine advance its position in the information environment but also help the rest of the democracies improve information integrity across various platforms. We use our skills of media, social media analysis, and digital diplomacy to work closely with Ukrainian civil society, which is also part of our team.
We are not taking a hostile approach towards information platforms, but working with them. We are very collaborative, because what we are trying to do is in their interests to be a credible, pro-democracy, pro-freedom, pro-expression platform. That is not to say that freedom of expression is applicable to those who are pro-censorship or oppressing those that are fighting for freedom.
The Kremlin has immense resources and an almost bottomless bank balance. What do you intend to do to counter this imbalance?
We play our game, in a nutshell. We don't care about what the Kremlin thinks about us, and our biggest "weapon" we bring is allies. These allies are technology, NGOs, government actors, and multi government actors like the European Union, who have been working to counter Kremlin mainline information operations for years.
There is a whole list of professionals and organizations, such as the Atlantic Council, the German Marshall Fund, and others, that are deeply committed to making the information environment more transparent. The Digital Diplomacy Task Force tries not to overlap with these existing initiatives, but rather to amplify them as much as possible.
For instance, we are not doing open-source investigations ourselves. We are relying on our partners, such as the digital forensic research lab of the Atlantic Council. We use their findings to strengthen our digital diplomacy, and use such findings to build the case to Meta, Twitter, and others as to why these Russian accounts should not be allowed to exist.
A #SuspendKremlin hashtag at a pro-European Union rally in front of Parliament. Photo by Zviad Adzinbaia
Surely your efforts won't go unnoticed. Are you concerned for you and your team's safety?
I don't think so. There's nothing hidden about what we do. It is open-source work. We're not intelligence officers, but digital diplomats. We've been in the field so we take precautions about what we do, what we say, and who we talk with. Our computers are of course more protected than your average consumer computer, but if everything from our files and storage went live tomorrow, it would be no problem.
Everyone would see how we are consistent and committed to what we are doing, and how transparent we are.
This war is unlikely to come to an end soon, particularly if things don't change in Moscow. What does the future look like for you, given that likelihood?
In the coming months, we are committed to following up and trying to get where we want to get in terms of the current campaign. We want the campaign to succeed and the wheels are turning slowly. However, as the FBI likes to say, the wheels are turning. The campaign is gaining momentum. For instance, this week the pro-European rally promoted our hashtag in front of over 120,000 people. That's really good for our recognition and confidence to get ahead.
It also shows our colleagues at Meta and Google that there are a lot of people who physically and consciously care about what we do. As soon as possible, we aim to make this campaign a success. There will be more endorsement, more analysis, and more articles about us. We are working closely with the Ukrainian entities to identify the critical areas that they need support from groups like us. We don't exactly know where we will be this time next year, but what we do know is that we will be there.
Interview by Michael Godwin
Tags: Digital Diplomacy Task Forceinformation warfareRussian propagandaZviad Adzinbaia


text:
Wall 2 Wall
Artists in Alphabetical order:
Aero, Chelsea Lewinski, East, Emit, Jher451, Karma Leigh, Keith Jive, Michael Gallegos, Mike Graves, Patrick Kane McGregor, Ricks73, Sandra Fettingis, Scribe D. Ross, Tuke One, Vogey.
Bitfactory Gallery is hosting an exhibit curated by graffiti artist and graphic designer, Emit. Wall2Wall runs July 15-August 15, 2022 and features paintings and prints of graffiti art, street art and pop art made from aerosol, oil, acrylic and mixed media. The artists invited to this exhibit show work all over Colorado, the United States and even internationally. They include Aero, Chelsea Lewinski, East, Emit, Jher451, Karma Leigh, Keith Jive, Michael Gallegos, Mike Graves, Patrick Kane McGregor, Ricks73, Sandra Fettingis, Scribe D. Ross, Tuke One and Vogey. The public is invited to attend the Opening Reception at 851 Santa Fe Drive on Friday, July 15, 6-9 pm, the First Friday Art Walk on Friday, August 5, 6-9 pm, and to visit during regular gallery hours Tuesday–Saturday, 11:00–4 pm and by appointment, for the run of the show. Art may also be purchased online at www.bitfactory.net.
Emit, who planned and curated this show, has been around, painting and switching' up styles, since the late 80's. He started off mainly doing illegal art in CT, NY, and DC learning the foundation of graffiti style and history mostly from NY writers. A couple years later, he pioneered the DF crew with fellow artist Sub, and received a tremendous amount of attention, both individually and collaboratively, for his vibrant large-scale works and productions, with his trademark clean, metropolitan b-boy style. In 1995, Emit jumped into Denver's scene painting with renowned locals from both RTD and SWS crews, and could be found on fr8's, under bridges as well as on the street, continuing to develop his style. Emit's love for large scale productions helped motivate Denver's street art and graffiti scene while creating some of Denver's most recognized productions along with fellow DF member, Tuke.
In 1999 Emit joined up with ex professional snowboarder and DJ/promoter Steve Blakley to co-found The Firm Graphics. This edgy design firm has been doing work for the entertainment industry for the past 23 years and have garnered international acclaim for their progressive and distinctive design work within the electronic music and entertainment industry, as well as DF crew gaining world-wide recognition for their creative and innovative graffiti styles.
Bitfactory Gallery, located at 851 Santa Fe Drive in the heart of Denver's Art District on Santa Fe, exhibits work by the best emerging and up-and-coming local, national, and international visual artists. It strives to showcase art that may not be a good fit for other galleries. Additionally, they host one major or renowned artist a year, bringing new and exciting work to Denver. The Bitfactory building also houses artist studios with the vision of providing a helpful, friendly atmosphere for artists to work solo or collaborate with others (Bitfactory Studios) as well as the pop-up space the Garage at Bitfactory. Gallery hours are Tuesday–Saturday, 11am–4p and by appointment. For additional information please contact Bill Thomason at info@bitfactory.net or (303) 862-9367. www.bitfactory.net
EAST – A native of Illiana (Illinois-Indiana) now residing in Denver, East graduated from the Chicago Academy of Fine & Performing Arts in 1988. This classically trained scholarship recipient and teacher's apprentice excelled in the arts of Intaglio printmaking and color theory. His love of technical lines and color spilled over into his passion for urban art, and East became a leading influence in the Illinois underground art scene as-well-as the founder of multiple Midwest graffiti styles. With 40 years' experience, East continues to surge forward — through his consistency and perseverance, he has earned the title "Midwest Master", continuing to pursue his passion for letters and lettering styles.
KeithJive, l'enfant terrible of underground culture began his graffiti career in rural Connecticut in 1989 at the age of 14. He quickly catapulted into international success with his eclectic, visionary style.
His prolific pieces are found in countless graffiti magazines around the world, national street art festivals and legal walls. His exposure is wide-spread, exhibiting graffiti canvases and paintings in group and solo fine art shows throughout the United States. KeithJive is renowned for his neoteric stylization of letters and vibrant chromatic instincts. He is also recognized as a creative trendsetter, constantly evolving his personal style through the past 3 decades. His occasional use of unconventional materials (mechanical gears, mirrors, and other found objects) are a testament to him as a maverick artist and writer.
Karma Leigh is a Chicana from Colorado who was blessed to grow up between two worlds, the urban life of the city and the natural wonders of the Rockies. Both have inspired her work as an artist and educator. Karma has always had an innate desire for exploration and traveled to many cities in the US landing her in Phoenix for three years. It was there her passion to create, and hone her skills as an artist, were fueled by the many prolific artists she was surrounded by. Karma is a self-taught painter, muralist, curator and creator of jewelry and tangible goods. Her talents are not limited to the paint and palette; she has helped organize successful vendor markets for FemFest, taught for the EPIC Arts program out of Redline Gallery, and was the former Education Coordinator for Museo de las Americas and has been a teacher there for seven years. Karma is also an art teacher with Voz y Corazon, a suicide prevention program in Denver, for five years and will be teaching her own art programs in 2021.
Sandra Fettingis is a muralist and installation artist focused on creating work for the public realm through geometric patterning. Born and raised in Chicago by South American artist parents, Sandra studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, earned a BA from Columbia College Chicago, and currently resides in Denver, CO. She has created more than 60 large-scale artworks for public and private collections across the nation. Sandra pushes her practice creatively and professionally by experimenting with new materials, taking on projects outside of Colorado, and pushing the visual language of abstraction through line and geometric minimalism often nodding to our natural world.
© BITFACTORY STUDIOS 2023 Website: TheFirmGraphics


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Harrison CIC Creates Downtown Business COVID-19 Loan Program
Shannon David Hamons, CEcD
City of Harrison
CIC Board member Gary Ellerhorst, (right), owner of Crown Plastics, presents a loan check to Jennifer Head of 'Ahead of the Curve Gifts' (center). They are joined by CIC Treasurer Cathy Stockhoff.
The Harrison, Ohio Community Improvement Corporation recently established a Downtown Loan Program for businesses affected by loss of sales due to the Ohio COVID-19 rules. Applications were provided to 27 Downtown businesses, and eight of the businesses chose to apply for the $5,000, 1% simple interest loans.
Funds for the program were provided to the eight businesses thanks to the CIC's sale of a Downtown building last year. The term of the loans is four years, with the repayment start delayed for one year. The types of businesses that applied for the loans included restaurants, a home decor retailer, a women's clothing store, a salon, an antique shop, a sports apparel store, and a flower shop. A requirement for application was a sales loss of at least 35% due to COVI-19 retail rules. Some of the stores experienced a 100% loss of sales, while the combined average of sales loss was 71%.
Harrison Mayor Bill Neyer commented about the importance of the loan program.
"It was very perceptive of our local CIC members to recognize that some of our home-grown businesses were facing tremendous stress," Neyer said. "While the loans are relatively small, for these community members the funds could mean the difference between staying in business or closing. Our Downtown has realized a great resurgence in recent years, and it was important to keep that momentum going."
CIC Board member Tim Kern said, "While many Harrison businesses were greatly challenged during this time, we felt it was especially important to reach out to the Downtown businesses. 'The District' as it is called, serves as Harrison's 'living room', where most of our community's special events are conducted. We believe as our Downtown District goes, so goes our City." Kern is Senior V.P. of JTM Food Group, Harrison's largest employer with 550+ associates.
The Harrison CIC was created near the end of 2018 to promote business development in the Hamilton County community 20 miles northwest of Cincinnati. Before the loan program, the CIC had entered into an agreement with Harrison Building & Loan to utilize the company's Downtown parking lot for customers of the area's other businesses. The Harrison City Council had also recently approved an Entertainment District in its Downtown, leading to the renovation of no less than four buildings for restaurants and pubs.
← City of Middletown Hires Veteran Economic Development Director, Launches Microsite Virtual Panels Provide Guidance for Cincinnati Small Businesses →


text:
FARKAS Jenő Zsolt
Great Plain Research Institute
Kecskemét Department
Name : Farkas Jenő Zsolt
Place and date of birth : Budapest, September 1st,1977
Marital status : married
E-mail farkasj(at)rkk.hu
E-mail farkas.jenozsolt(at)krtk.hu
2000 University of Szeged — geographer, specialization in settlement development
2000 University of Szeged — MSc. in history and geography
2002 University of Budapest, Faculty of Public Administration — financial expert of local goverments, specialization in settlement management
2003 University of Szeged — fulfilled all requirements of the 'Geographical and geological analysis of regional processes PhD programme'
2006 Budapest University of Technology (BME) — applied GIS expert
2008 University of Szeged — PhD comprehensive exam
2011 University of Szeged, Doctoral School of Geosiences — PhD Earth Science
German (reads)
1999—2000 Virágh Gedeon Secondary School, Kunszentmiklós — history and geography teacher
2000—2001 County Office of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Kecskemét — chief inspector of national agricultural subsidies
2002—2005 County Office of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Kecskemét — IT inspector
2005—2011 Great Plain Institute, Centre for Regional Studies, Kecskemét — junior research fellow
2011—2013 College of Kecskemét — senior lecturer
2011—2020 Great Plain Research Department, Institute for Regional Studies, CERS, Kecskemét — research fellow
2020— Great Plain Research Department, Institute for Regional Studies, CERS, Kecskemét — senior research fellow
2008— lecturer, College of Kecskemét, Faculty of Horticulture, Department of Regional Development and Applied GIS
2018— titular associate professor, John von Neumann University
2018— lecturer, Szent István University, Enyedi György Doctoral School of Regional Sciences
2011— HAS Regional Board of Szeged, Agroeconomics, member
2015— HAS Regional Board of Szeged, Earth Science, member
2021—2024 Bolyai János Kutatási Ösztöndíj, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia
Regional statistics (College of Kecskemét, Faculty of Horticulture)
Geographical Information Systems (College of Kecskemét & Szent István University)
Natural resources (College of Kecskemét, Faculty of Horticulture)
Agrarian and Rural Development (College of Kecskemét, Faculty of Horticulture)
Strategic issues of rural development (College of Kecskemét, Faculty of Horticulture)
Rural Development (College of Kecskemét, Faculty of Horticulture)
Land use and land use change, land use modelling
GIS and remote sensing methods
Agricultural geography
Csomós, G., Farkas, J. Z., & Kovács, Z. (2020). Access to urban green spaces and environmental inequality in post-socialist cities. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin, 69(2), 191-207.
Lennert, J., Farkas, J. Z., Kovács, A. D., Molnár, A., Módos, R., Baka, D., & Kovács, Z. (2020). Measuring and predicting long-term land cover changes in the functional urban area of Budapest. Sustainability, 12(8), 3331.
Kovács, Z., Farkas, Z. J., Egedy, T., Kondor, A. C., Szabó, B., Lennert, J., ... & Kohán, B. (2019). Urban sprawl and land conversion in post-socialist cities: The case of metropolitan Budapest. Cities, 92, 71-81.
Csatári, B., Farkas, J. Z., & Lennert, J. (2019). Agrarian and rural development in Hungary after 1989. In Three Decades of Transformation in the East-Central European Countryside (pp. 21-54). Springer, Cham.
Farkas, J. Z., & Lennert, J. (2019). Future prospects of land cover change in Hungary: Modelling and forecasts. In Three Decades of Transformation in the East-Central European Countryside (pp. 309-333). Springer, Cham.
Farkas, J. Z., Hoyk, E., & Rakonczai, J. (2017). Geographical analysis of climate vulnerability at a regional scale: The case of the Southern Great Plain in Hungary. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin, 66(2), 129-147.
Kovács, A. D., Hoyk, E., & Farkas, J. Z. (2017). Homokhátság-a special rural area affected by aridification in the Carpathian basin, Hungary. European Countryside, 9(1), 29-50.


Sunnyshore Studio broke two of our records for the Camano Island Studio tour: over 1,500 guests visited and we sold over $20,000 of artwork! We are excited about breaking these records for our Studio, but even more encouraged by a number of other things.
Our Administrator, Jenny Dorsey and Artistic Director, Jason Dorsey, weren't present for Mother's Day Weekend (Jason was at the Studio on Friday, but not Saturday and Sunday).
They were in West Lafayette, IN, celebrating the graduation of their son Jacob from Purdue University's engineering program!
In their absence Jackie Dorsey rose to the occasion. With the help of Jed and Renae, who recently moved from Indianapolis, the Studio ran like a well oiled machine.
We are so thankful for all the artists who helped over that first weekend: Jack and Ann Dorsey, April Nelson, Jed and Renae Dorsey, Melanie Serroels, Amanda Pearson, and Judy Sullivan.
And we tip our hat to Jenny Dorsey who has set up such a great organization that it runs without her presence.
We are super happy to have Jed and Renae Dorsey on Camano. Jed is a terrific artist and he loves a big party. So he was in his element over both weekends.
Jed built a portable deck, and set up his tent on it. It sat at the entrance to the studio and it worked great.
Jed had to keep painting because his paintings sold so quickly!
Sunnyshore Studio was built to support the Dorsey family of artists by showcasing their art. We're very happy to report that the artworks of family members sold well.
Besides Jed, Jack, Ann, Jason and April sold paintings.
Our family of artists Matriarch, Fanny Y. Cory, had great sales as usual too.
Jackie Dorsey even got into the act selling both of her paintings!
We were happy to have three guests artists with us – Amanda Pearson, Melanie Serroels, and Judy Sullivan – and grateful that we had good sales of their artwork!
Most of all we are thankful for the growing community of friends, collectors and patrons of the Dorsey family of artists. We have people who have supported us since Jack Dorsey launched his professional art career in 1969. We love seeing old friends and making new ones.
One final Thanks to everyone who stopped by our little Studio tucked among the first and cedars on the south end of beautiful Camano Island.


text:
A couple more Ty Law notes
By Lindsay Jones
Brian Dawkins, Casey Wiegmann, Jack Williams, Josh McDaniels
New (old?) cornerback Ty Law was on the field in uniform at practice for the Broncos Saturday afternoon, the team's final session in preparation for Monday's game against Pittsburgh.
Law will wear jersey No. 26 — the number vacated when the team released Jack Williams Saturday morning. Law long wore No. 24, with the Patriots and the Jets, but that number is obviously taken here in Denver (by Champ Bailey).
On Saturday, Law wore a sleeve on wrist with the plays and defensive calls on it (like the sleeves quarterbacks sometimes wear). McDaniels said the terminology shouldn't be too different for Law from what he remembers from when he played in New England earlier this decade.
"I think when you've played the game as long and as well as Ty has played it, hopefully you have the opportunity to get comfortable quicker than he would if it were a younger player who had relatively no experience in the national football league," coach Josh McDaniels said.
Law is 35 years old, but he's not the oldest player in Denver's secondary. That would be 36-year-old Brian Dawkins. Fellow corners Champ Bailey and Andre Goodman are both 31, and safety Renaldo Hill is 30. The Broncos now have five players older than their 33-year-old head coach: Dawkins, center Casey Wiegmann (36), punter Mitch Berger (37) and defensive end Vonnie Holliday (33, will turn 34 in December).
Law is now the team's heaviest cornerback, at 5-11, 200 pounds. Bailey, Goodman and rookie Alphonso Smith are all under 200 pounds.
Comments Off on A couple more Ty Law notes
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text:
On the Death of the Man on the Moon
Posted on August 25, 2012 by Nigel Cameron
Neil Armstrong (Photo: Wikipedia)
An odd thing on a Saturday evening to discover on Twitter that the most interesting man in the world has died. And to recall that he had shared my birthday, August 5. There's a curious boding in birthdays.
I had met him. Met him at an embassy in Washington, DC, where despite the fact he was guest of honor there seemed much more interest in the cocktails than in shaking his hand. So I shook it. And we talked. About the moon, about the occasion, and about C-PET. And our shared birthday.
A man as modest as Steve Jobs, that other defining figure of our technological age, was self-absorbed. A man whose anguish as 43 years were spent by this allegedly visionary nation in failing to build on what he had signally achieved was kept almost entirely quiet (the Obama administration's space strategy emerging in 2010 finally drew him and his fellow astronauts into polite regret). The first earth-man to set foot on another body in space; who for all we know was the first sentient being ever to do that in the vast expanses of the cosmos. (And before you start poo-pooing and raving about extra-terrestrials, go think for more than 5 minutes about the Fermi Paradox.)
The comparison with Steve Jobs is illuminating in so many ways. I don't know whether they ever met. It would have been a fascinating encounter. The visionary of the miniature in conversation with the epitome of the astronomic. Together, these two dead engineers define an era, itself the platform that lays claim to the future, a future in which the exponential explosion of digital technology has enabled us to leverage our human engineering capacities beyond all prediction – and which has engaged them to serve ends that history will surely see as equally cool and equally trivial.
It's Peter Thiel, whom I greatly admire even though I don't share all of his analysis, who quips that we wanted flying cars and got 140 characters. Had his target been Facebook, on whose board he sits, rather than Twitter, it would have been easier to cry Huzzah! But his point is fundamentally sound. When I was a kid (and, by the way, ran the astronomy club at my English boys' school), the coolest of all kids wanted to be astronauts. Raise the question now and you are likely to get a yawn, or worse. Anyone who's into engineering wants to work in the Solar System that for so long circled around Steve Jobs. Micro has displaced macro; the human imagination has become absorbed with digitally-enabled human interaction, so "the social network" seeks, allegedly altruistically though undeniably IPO-ly, to connect all 7 billion of us so we can share our kids' (and kittens') pics. This cosmic narcissism stands in so great contrast to the vision of cosmic Columbuses and Vasco de Gamas as to be hard to grasp by those who love children (and kittens) and yet stare at the night sky and lust after both knowledge and presence.
Andrew Keen's brilliant and non-naive critique of naive digital culture, Digital Vertigo, has forcibly reminded us of the flawed genius of utilitarianism. If what truly matters is for us to be happy, if the summum bonum of Homo sapiens lies not in the beatific vision and the cultural mandate (and if, dear secular thinker, you don't know what they mean, o boy, you should), or even a post-theistic re-statement of them both, but in a mirror and a merely social network, then who can challenge the Lotos-eaters or their chip-popping couch potato cognates, for whom the good life is merely the life at ease?
This same week, Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of The Murdoch, turned her family's business debacle into an exercise in education – in her Edinburgh lecture which the establishment of my former nation regards as the year's top occasion for media discourse. What is the point of profit, she asked? It needs to have a point. The transcendence milled into human nature, whether or not understood within the Judeo-Christian frame – which set the stage for science as well as democracy (yes, through the proud Enlightenment) – demands always something beyond itself. Else why for modest rewards and ambiguous esteem have so many of our countrymen and women lost limbs and lives in jungles and deserts and mountains far from our alabaster cities? Humans constantly grasp after reductionism, with happiness as its goal and no judgment as to means; at the same time as their striving for what lies beyond becomes frenetic.
And yet, three short years after Armstrong set his feet upon that other cosmic body, we lost interest. Budgets, priorities. And we had knocked the Soviets into a cocked hat. And space costs moolah and does not win elections.
This modest engineer became a Right Stuff pilot and the first walker on another world. 43 long years later we are ambling back into the game. There's time to make up. Perhaps, with SpaceX and others, we can.
It's hard to see what sense America makes without a sustained engagement in the future. JFK's moon commitment and its follow-through across a decade of leaders offer a benchmark of national capability and trans-party vision.
And that takes us back, of course, to the 19th century, where most of what needs to be said was said. And Tennyson's Ulysses, penned in 1842, the closing lines:
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. Ulysses, aged now, sets out on another voyage. It was of course Tennyson who had written 10 years before of the Lotos-Eaters. There really are only two courses. In 1832, and 1842, he laid them bare.
Oh yes, and Tennyson was born on August 6. Close.
Farewell, man on the moon.
NASA and the Wrong Stuff:
https://futureofbiz.org/programs/future-of-nasa/
On the Death of Steve Jobs:
https://futureofbiz.org/2011/10/06/steve-jobs-dies-a-generation-ends/
Neil Armstrong, First Man on Moon, Dies at 82 – NYTimes.com.
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/people/2012-08-25/neil-armstrong-1st-man-moon-dies-82.html
Watch Neil Armstrong's legendary 1969 Moon moment (slashgear.com)
This entry was posted in business, future, leadership, policy and tagged Fermi Paradox, Lotos-Eaters, Neil Armstrong, Steve Jobs, United States by Nigel Cameron. Bookmark the permalink.
1 thought on "On the Death of the Man on the Moon"
Nigel Cameron on April 18, 2013 at 9:22 pm said:
Reblogged this on AmericanVisions.


For the best Sacred Harp has to offer, go to an all-day singing or convention.
While local singings usually attract 8-20 singers who sing for 2-3 hours, an all-day singing will attract 40-125 singers who sing for 5-6 hours. A "convention" usually lasts two days, and may attract more than 200 singers. The sheer intensity of the singing can be mind-blowing, and has caused more than one singer to declare "I must do this" for the rest of my life.
A local singing is a great place to learn how to sing in the tradition. In the Palo Alto local singing, we might work through a more complex or difficult song, singers can ask for part reviews, everyone a chance to work on leading, etc.
But at an all-day singing or convention, we just sing — for hours! We might sing close a hundred songs in a day. With plenty of experienced singers to carry each section, new singers find that going to an all-day singing takes you to the next level in your singing.
Dinner-on-the-grounds is one of the best parts of an all-day singing. We break for lunch at about noon, and singers bring their best potluck dishes to share. Here in Northern California, you'll find a wide range of offerings, from traditional dishes that you'd find at a Southern singing, to Northern California specialties, to vegan extravaganzas.
The Golden Gate singing usually attracts well over a hundred singers, including a number of out-of-town singers. Above, James and Shani lead 312b "Restoration" at the 2012 Golden Gate.
The All-California Convention, or "All-Cal," rotates between San Diego (2016), Los Angeles (2017), and the Bay Area (2018). There can be upwards of 200 singers who come from far and near, including some of the best Sacred Harp singers alive today. Above, Ian leads 38b "Windham" at the 2012 All-Cal, as captured by professional videographer and Sacred Harp singer Jeremy Knight.


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