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There is good news and bad news from Liberia, which is emerging after two successive civil wars that left approximately 250,000 people dead. A small movement has organized around men who have sex with men (MSM), HIV/AIDS and gay rights in the West African nation.
First the bad news: As soon as tomorrow the Liberian senate could consider a proposal to strengthen the nation's existing anti-gay laws. The bill would make homosexuality a first degree felony and punishable by up to 10 years in prison, reports the South African Press Association and the AP. The bill was submitted by Sen. Jewel Taylor, former president Charles Taylor's ex-wife.
The current law considers gay relationships a first-degree misdemeanor, which carries a punishment of up to a year in prison. If passed by the Senate, the strengthened bill would then go the House and then the president.
Charles Taylor is currently being tried at the International Criminal Court in The Hague on an 11-count indictment for war crimes. His wife is restricted from leaving the country.
Now the good news: "Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a recent Nobel Peace Prize winner, has said she will not sign any such bill into law," reports the Daily Mail and the AP.
Liberia is one of at least 38 of Africa's 54 nations that currently have laws penalizing same-sex relations or even sexuality. Four nations—Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan—boast the death penalty for gays or same-sex activity. South Africa and Seychelles are the only African nations that protect LGBT rights. South Africa is also the only African nation to guarantee marriage equality.
Liberia has a historic relationship with the United States dating back almost 200 years. The nation was founded by freed American slaves in 1820, Washington is its closest trade partner and it uses the US dollar as its national currency.
You May Have Missed ...
LIBERIA: House Speaker Vows "No Gay Rights"
LIBERIA: Gay Activists Fight HIV and Homophobia
Gays Becoming "Increasingly Visible" in Abidjan?


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The Drowning
The Drowning: former Batlefield dev's iOS shooter out now
Time to see if the mobile experiment succeeded; Ben Cousins' new shooter, iOS exclusive The Drowning, is out now. The former Battlefield executive producer was pretty confident in the game's touch controls, and since it's free on iTunes there seems to be no reason not to go see if he was right.Thanks, Joystiq.
The Drowning headlines
The Drowning - new trailer for former Battlefield dev's tablet FPS
The Drowning boasts some serious shooter chops behind it thanks to project lead Ben Cousins, former executive producer of the Battlefield series. See how a veteran shooter team makes the jump to touch controls in the trailer through the break.
Former Battlefield developer reveals iOS FPS
The Drowning, a free-to-play post-apocalyptic first-person shooter for iOS, has been unveiled by Ben Cousins, former Battlefield Executive Producer.

subset: commoncrawl


text: HelenaExMachina #1 Posted October 18, 2018 (edited) Title prompted by discussion in the Watching threads. The discussion over there was whether S3 is another simulation, or whether the timeline was actually resent so that Eleanor, Tahani, Jason and Chidi never died but were given a second chance to earn their spot in the good place when they actually die. I'm leaning towards the latter based on the way the characters have been talking (like Eleanor losing points for blaming the chair for her farts) but could easily see it go the other way too. Another suggestion that was made in the other thread was that the Judge is running this as a simulation but Michael and the Bad Place demons think it's real. We could get a clearer idea next week considering where last episode left off with Michael wanting to reset again and the group discovering him and Janet Edited November 16, 2019 by HelenaExMachina Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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…is my absolute favorite day of the week, and I'll tell you why.
1. I get to hang out with my family. Most of the time that just means being in the same room, but other times it means dining out. This week it was the latter and we had dim sum!
2. I can get cupcakes from Starbucks. Why only Saturday? Because during the week all the early birds take them. Why not Sundays? They're my stay-at-home-in-my-pajamas-all-day-days. I was amazingly lucky and scored a red velvet one this afternoon 😀
3. I have more time to be crafty. Right now I'm going through a sewing phase, but even if I was in a knitting or crocheting one, Saturday would be the day I have the most time to be crafty "for myself" (not for izznit or boojiboo). Today I finished cutting the quilt pieces and paired the fabrics up. I realized though that I didn't cut enough blocks–I needed 65 but ended up with 38. Boo.
4. I usually get tattooed. If I'm not hanging out with the fam, eating cupcakes, or being crafty, I'm getting inked. It's an addiction. I'm at seven right now and made an appointment today for my half sleeve… And to think it hasn't even been a year since my first! (That's me getting an owl on my foot. That sucker HURT.)
5. I have time to eat breakfast. Yeah, I know I should eat breakfast everyday, but sometimes I'm running so late I don't have time to grab something or I just forget. I'm trying to be better at it, but for now, Saturdays are the only days I'm guaranteed breakfast.
So now you're probably wondering, why is this being posted on a Sunday? Well, Saturday was just so jam-packed with awesomeness I couldn't do it any sooner.


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Michael Jackson's posthumous concert documentary "This Is It" finally landed in theaters this week. It scored the top spot at the US box office with $21.3 million in ticket sales, and it made over $100 million worldwide over the weekend. By most measures, particularly that of a concert film, "This Is It" is a rousing success.
But measured against the breathless hype ushering it into theaters, the film's grosses are something of a disappointment. Sony paid $60 million to acquire the film and God knows how much more to distribute and promote it.
Prior to the film's release, one anonymous film exec told Entertainment Weekly, "It's going to make a gazillion dollars." Elizabeth Taylor told everyone over her Twitter feed that the movie made her weep. More than a few comparisons to "The Passion Of The Christ" were thrown around, noting both the uniqueness of the movie and the devotion of the subject's fanbase. Early screenings all over were sold out. The movie played on over 10,000 freaking screens.
In light of all that buildup, a box office take of $21.3 million isn't quite what you would expect. "Passion" made over three times that amount when it opened, which of course means that Jesus is exactly three times more popular than Michael Jackson. Judd Apatow's "Funny People" was considered a failure after making $23 million in its first weekend over the summer. It's no given that the movie will make $100 million here in the US, the traditional benchmark for a box office hit.
"This Is It" comes on the heels of a summer dominated by Jackson. After his death, Jackson's back catalog sales skyrocketed. But "This Is It" is a different animal from that nostalgia machine.
The film was a showcase of Michael Jackson as he was right before he died. And no matter what the people involved in the film may say about his ability to perform in those last rehearsals, the fact is that the latter-day Jackson was still a pale, thin, cut-up mess who was uncomfortable to look at. THAT iteration of Jackson, the one that made the "Invincible" album, had a far more limited audience (consisting mainly of his devotees, as opposed to more casual listeners and people put off by his molestation charges).
U.S. & World
Watching "This Is It' means having to spend a couple hours with the Michael Jackson you may not want to remember. It's not the same as turning on MTV right after he died and getting to watch the "Billie Jean" video for old time's sake. "This Is It" was supposed to capitalize on the wave of good will spawned from Jackson's death. Instead, many people have elected to stay home, not wanting to push their luck with those memories much further.
Drew Magary is a writer for deadspin.com and the author of Men With Balls: The Professional Athlete's handbook.


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Bain Capital Owns Clear Channel (Romney Supported by Talk Show sphere)
Wouldn't it be great if a Republican presidential candidate could just buy the support of just about every major conservative talk show host in America? Well, it may not be as far-fetched as you may think.
Clear Channel owns more radio stations (850) than anyone else in the United States. They also own Premiere Radio Networks, the company that syndicates the radio shows of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck, among others.
Needless to say, Clear Channel basically owns conservative talk radio in the United States. So who owns Clear Channel?
Well, it turns out that Bain Capital is one of the primary owners of Clear Channel. Yes, you read that correctly. The company that Mitt Romney ran for so long is one of the "big bosses" over virtually all conservative talk radio in America.
Of course Mitt Romney is not running Bain Capital anymore. He is a "retired partner", but he still has a huge financial stake in Bain Capital. We're talking about millions upon millions of dollars. If you doubt this, just check out page 34 of this public financial disclosure report. So if you have been wondering why so many conservative talk show hosts are being so incredibly kind to Mitt Romney, this just might be the answer.
Of course all these conservative propagandists, in addition to their radio shows on Clear Channel, also have programs on TV as well, into which they carry their agenda. after all, they cannot be pro-Romney on their radio shows, then be pro-anyone else on TV! So, Bain not only controls the pro-Romney bias of Clear Channel but indirectly the content of TV political reporting as well!


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Track message activity because knowledge is power.
Knowing who opened your emails, when, and which links were clicked empowers you to follow up on time and on point.
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PieSync is easy to use and helps you build your business by increasing productivity. Our two-way contact integration will decrease data errors and ensure that you and your team will have access to the most up to date customer information.


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Would like to see the following in the editor:
- Visual monitor of midi output coming from the pads. Would be nice to evaluate the actual pressure and x/y data from pads.
- Live output to a virtual midi port from within the editor to actually test output without having to disconnect QuNeo from the editor.
Would also love to see an iPad editor, though something tells me that's not easily doable. I moved completely to iOS a year ago, and hate to lug a laptop around just to make simple changes to my controllers. Any possibility of adding sysex commands so an editor can be created in iOS apps like TB Midi Stuff?


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Each month here at Awful Announcing we will hope to spotlight the very best in announcing with our Calls of the Month feature. Below you'll find calls from all around the world of sports – from football to soccer, television to radio, the serious and the comical. Here's November's Calls of the Month in chronological order…
Nebraska's Hail Mary prayer is answered
Way back on November 2nd, Nebraska beat Northwestern on a Hail Mary pass to end the game. The Nebraska radio team of Greg Sharpe and Matt Davison made the delirious call.
The Tessitore Effect lives!
If ESPN's Joe Tessitore is calling your game, it's a near certainty something memorable is going to happen. He makes his second straight appearance in the Calls of the Month with this description of Myles Jack's first breakout performance as this generation's Chuck Bednarik – a 66 yard TD run.
Verne Lundquist jabs Brent Musburger
While not quite a "call" necessarily, this piece of humor from CBS's Verne Lundquist at the expense of Brent Musburger and Katherine Webb was one of the announcing highlights of the month.
VCU vanquishes Virginia
VCU won the Battle of the Commonwealth in one of the early season's most dramatic finishes thanks to a game winning three pointer from Treveon Graham. You could say VCU radio announcers Robby Robinson and Michael Litos were just a bit enthused with the win.
Thunder and Warriors trade buzzer beaters
Who else would you rather have calling two teams trading game winning baskets in the final seconds than Kevin Harlan? The Thunder and Warriors gave us just that gift earlier this month.
A Miracle in Jordan-Hare!
It may have been one of the plays of the year – Auburn's miraculous last second victory over Georgia on a tipped pass from Nick Marshall to Ricardo Louis. Tigers radio announcer provided a call worthy of the occasion.
Ronaldo! Hat Tricks! Lasers!
It wouldn't be a Calls of the Month compilation without a clip from global soccer. The European playoffs for the World Cup brought one of the most captivating performances of the year with Cristiano Ronaldo's hat trick for Portugal over Sweden. The calls of Nuno Matos and sound effects of Antena 1 made it even sweeter.
No way Jose!
The most recent and perhaps best call of the month came from the NAIA and this buzzer beater from Huntington University's Shane Merryman.


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Engadget Expand
Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 7:30 AM - Sunday, March 17, 2013 at 6:30 PM (PDT)
Engadget Expand is a brand new event designed from the ground up for technology fans. Our inaugural event will be in San Francisco at the historic Fort Mason Center over two days on March 16 and 17, with future events to be announced in the months ahead.
Get the inside story on your favorite devices from the tech titans who made them. Go hands-on with the best and most innovative new technologies. Be the first to see inventors unveil new products on stage. All this and more: don't miss Engadget's first ever Expand event!
DISCLOSURE: Tickets may be transferred; please see How to Change Ticket Holder. Refunds will be issued, minus $15 for Full Pass tickets and $10 for Saturday/Sunday Pass tickets refunded before 3/15/13.
PLEASE NOTE: You must either be at least 16 years of age to attend Expand, or be accompanied by an adult.
For more information on the event, please head over to the official Engadget Expand landing page.
In order to purchase these tickets in installments, you'll need an Eventbrite account. Log in or sign up for a free account to continue.


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By Keith Peters
Palo Alto Online
Brian Kreutzkamp had been battling illness this past week, along with a handful of his players on the Sacred Heart Prep boys' water polo team. The last thing Kreutzkamp needed to do on a cold day was jump into a swimming pool.
But, that comes with the job when your team wins a Central Coast Section Division II championship, which is exactly what the Gators did on Saturday with a 7-4 victory over Los Altos at Independence High in San Jose.
The title for the top-seeded Gators (19-10) was the fifth in program history and the team's fourth in the past five years. Sacred Heart has now appeared in nine straight championship games since winning its first title in 2003.
Third-seeded Los Altos (20-6), meanwhile, was making its fourth appearance ever in the title match and the first since 2001. The Eagles are 0-4 in finales.
Los Altos, which eliminated defending champion Menlo School in the semifinals, appeared to have a decent shot at upending Sacred Heart Prep -- given the Gators' recent illnesses and semifinal results.
"It's been quite a week," said Kreutzkamp. "Against Soquel (in the semifinals), it was our worst defensive game of the year as we gave up the most goals (13) of the season. Today, we played our best defensive game of the year, giving up the fewest goals of the year."
A big reason for the standout defensive effort by SHP was junior goalie Will Runkel, who was credited with 17 saves.
"When he (Runkel) plays that well, we're hard to stop," Kreutzkamp said.
Runkel set the tone early after SHP junior Michael Holloway scored the first of his game-high three goals and senior Kyle Koenig added another for a 2-0 lead. Runkel blocked a shot during a Los Altos 6-on-5 situation, blocked a shot during a one-on-one and then blocked a point-blank shot.
When Holloway scored again on a 6-on-5, the Gators held a 3-0 first-quarter lead. The Eagles battled back to tie at 3 on goals by Adam Warmoth, Ian McColl and the first of two by Kevin Stangl.
SHP sophomore Harrison Enright made it a 4-3 game on another 6-on-5 goal with 1:22 left in the third quarter. When Los Altos lost its big 2-meter man, Matt Orton, to his third ejection early in the fourth quarter, the Gators took advantage of the 6-on-5 with Holloway scoring for a 5-3 lead.
SHP junior Bret Hinrichs scored a pair of fourth-quarter goals to hold off the Eagles, who got only one goal combined from its top scoring tandem of Warmoth and Orton.
Kreutzkamp said the difference between giving up 13 goals to Soquel and four to Los Altos was returning to its normal style of play.
"Against Soquel, we were leaving too early (on a counter-attack) and not staying true to our game," said Kreutzkamp, whose team played more conservatively on Saturday.
"At halftime, I got a feeling for the game and realized it was going to be a defensive battle," Kreutzkamp said.
Neither team allowed the other to break away on the counter, thus the match turned into a halfcourt type of of game with each squad trying to earn kickouts and 6-on-5 advantages. The Gators wound up scoring five goals on man-up advantages.
"I'm comfortable with that," Kreutzkamp said of playing a half court game. "I knew we could get six to eight goals if we slowed it down. If we get out and counter-attack, we can get 10 or more."
While the Gators finished with 10 losses this season, their most while reaching a CCS final, Kreutzkamp was more than pleased with how the season turned out.
"We started two seniors," he said of Koenig and Max McKelvy. "They exceeded my expectations. Our goal was to get through league and get to this game."
The championship? It was just icing on the cake.


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The National Black Foot Soldier Network (NBFSN) is a network that now has Soldiers in nearly every state in Amerikka. The NBFSN is a non religious specific, ideological movement that embraces all non-religious specific strategies of all black, Nubian & Nuwaubian strategies that involve the liberation, independence and reparations of our people. Visit our main site and join the National Black Foot Soldier Network.
NBFSN soldiers are Christians, Muslims, Atheists, Jewish, Yakub Muslim and other faiths.
Explanations for such NBFSN tenets as : White Cops R Racial Terrorists and All Whites R Reparations Offendersare available on the Networks main site. Explanations for how to conduct Street Penitentiary Protests (SPP) when (white) racist State commissioned police regime terrorists like Norfolk's Victor Decker Newark's Michael Morgan & Taylor's Matthew Edwards die in terrific accidents or by brothers who have to defend themselves against White Police Terror (WPT) is available as premium content. This site is a support site published with the Network's permission.
Aarron Malik Gershwin (editor)
Yusef Douglas (publisher)


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Join Berwyn's Talent Network
Join Berwyn's Talent Network
Boozeday Tuesday w/ Ian Leith & special guestsName: Boozeday Tuesday w/ Ian Leith & special guestsDate: December 24, 2019Time: 8:30 PM - 11:55 PM CSTWebsite: Visit the Facebook page!Event Description:Join us every Tuesday starting at 8:30pm for Boozeday Tuesday with Ian Leith and special guests at Friendly Tap in Berwyn! Local musician Ian Leith hosts a night of music and entertainment every Tuesday. No doubt this music master is everything you're looking for on Tuesday night, but as an added bonus he brings local special guests each week to share the Friendly stage. Don't miss out on a great time at Friendly, where supporting local is taken seriously.
About Ian Leith
Described by his friends as "a musical encycopedia", "a well curated jukebox" "a sonic swiss army knife", Ian Leith is the jovial everyman seeking connections with each and every listener in the room through music. The diversity of his influences spill over to sets that portray a rich tapestry of inclusion: for no genre is out of bounds, no song is unreachable and no crossover is impossible.


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Want to have a bit part in a Ryan Gosling movie? Apparently, all you have to do is live through a bank robbery.
In his new film The Place Beyond the Pines, Gosling plays a bank robber — and for one stick-up scene in the movie, those are real bank customers and staff members on the screen, not extras, MSN reports. Luckily, the participants knew that it was only a film shoot — and used the opportunity to stargaze at Gosling.
TV Scorecard: What's renewed? What's canceled?
"I'm there with a gun and I look down and people are just smiling. They were just enjoying the show," Gosling tells MSN. "I think I spotted someone filming me on their camera phone as I robbed the place."


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What about Bob? McDonnell kicks off campaign
Standing in a room designed by the Commonwealth's second governor, former attorney general Bob McDonnell (R) made his first stop in Charlottesville on his campaign to become Virginia's 71st governor on Tuesday, March 31–- part of McDonnell's statewide kickoff tour.
"My top priority as governor," McDonnell told a group of about 50 supporters, "is to expand opportunity and create jobs all over the Commonwealth of Virginia."
At a rally at Jefferson Hall in Hotel C near the University of Virginia's Lawn, McDonnell touted his economic policy centered on lower taxes, deregulation, and job creation, a point he hit home by handing out "Bob 4 Jobs" bumper stickers.
"Virginia is already a great place to do business," said McDonnell, "but when you're running for governor, you ought to have what James Collins called 'big, hairy, audacious goals,' and I want to make Virginia the #1 place in America for small business."
McDonnell's appearance was part of his campaign's 15-city kickoff tour, gearing up for a campaign in which he is the presumptive Republican nominee.
"I've been all over this Commonwealth in the last couple days," says McDonnell. "The thing is that I was born in northern Virginia, lived in Hampton Roads for 21 years, and I live in Richmond now, so I'm the local candidate just about everywhere. I may be buying a house in Albemarle to make it complete."
McDonnell hopes to win the Governor's Mansion at a time when Virginia faces 6.6 percent unemployment, up from 3.5 percent this time last year. Several already-sitting Republican governors like Alaska's Sarah Palin and Louisiana's Bobby Jindal recently turned down hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money for unemployment insurance that would have provided relief to out-of-work constituents. While McDonnell wouldn't go so far as to call on Governor Tim Kaine (D) to do the same, he told the Hook that he understood why his party-mates rejected the funding and that he would have "significant concerns" about taking such money were he governor today.
"What Congress passed was essentially an unfunded mandate to expand coverage to laid off part-time and seasonal workers," says McDonnell, "that only extended those benefits for a year, and would have left small businesses to pay for it after that. In the long run, it keeps small businesses from creating jobs in the future."
The rally also served as recruiting grounds for volunteers and donors. In the middle of his remarks, McDonnell requested all assembled to send a text message and get signed up for alerts from his campaign, which he says will be "the most technologically savvy Virginia has ever seen." And to those apprehensive about giving to a political campaign at a time when budgets are tight, McDonnell told supporters such a donation may ultimately be a money saver.
"A donation to my campaign is cheaper than having to pay my opponent's higher taxes," he said.
That opponent has yet to be determined. Presently, State Senator Creigh Deeds, former Democratic National Committee chair Terry McAuliffe, and former delegate Brian Moran are all vying for the Democratic nomination prior to a statewide primary vote on Tuesday, June 9.
5 comments
I heard about this, but your post is the best explanation of it. Most other blogs I have read don't know what they are talking about. However, I must say that your blog is very informative...I am subscribing to your RSS feed right now! Thanks!
Great. Just what the commonwealth needs. Another blow dried moron cryin's about high taxes and totally clueless to the financial calamity that has befallen this country. Not that McCaulife, Deeds or Moran are any different. This country has one political party, "The Corporate Party" with two wings; Democratic and Republican. Just like GM; you have a choice...you can buy a Pontiac or a Cadillac...but either way, GM gets your money.
However, it appears that just like it's industrial counterpart, The Corporate Party is bankrupt as well. Not fincanically so, just morally, ethically and politically.
Pete Deer
Color me underwhelmed.
I wouldn't underestimate his chances. By November, the bloom may be well of the rose of the Obama presidency and the GOP "brand" could easily make a comeback, at least in VA. One would be foolish to dismiss any candidate that can consider 45% of the vote in the bag.
Envisioning Deeds or McAuliffe defeating McDonnell is hard to do, and it seems premature to put Moran's chances at better than 50/50. Either way, Virginia will soon have a governor with the initials BM.
I sure would like to know what happened to the "party of inclusion" or big umbrella (Reagan). When i sent Mr. MacDonald a reply stating i believed the religious right are wrong. Because of my view on stem cell research, his reply was to remove me from the Republican website. I also believe the last thing we need right now is another attourney in office!


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Introduction to Internet
Wednesday, February 21, 2018, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
This class is for beginners! Through this class you will learn basic Internet navigating skills including: Internet safety, using the address bar, using search engines, and navigating websites. Registration is required, so call (706)357-4307 or stop by the Circulation Desk soon!


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Cheap Flights, Holidays and City Breaks to Rome, Italy from Ireland
Italy's capital is undeniably one of the greatest cities in the world. There's a wealth of history for you to discover, with flights and all-inclusive holidays to Rome from Ireland always avaiable all-year round.
From the Colosseum to St. Peter's or the Pantheon, Rome is filled with many famous attractions that are located on every turn. For anyone who has an interest in history, Rome is a top destination to visit and explore. Rome is referred to as ''The Eternal City'', an opinion that was articulated by ancient Roman Writers and Poets.
Every year, millions of travellers flock from every corner of the globe to take in the treasures and the sublime masterpieces of Roman art and architecture. Even though it was once the largest city in the world, the capital of one of the greatest empires in the world and now the centre of the Christian world, Rome is quite a compact city. It's size makes it perfect for travellers as most of its renowned attractions are within close proximity to each other.
The ancient centre of Rome is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and you will be overjoyed discovering Rome's palaces, churches, old basilicas, amazing fountains and photogenic monuments and statues. Although Rome is steeped in history, it has a very cosmopolitan ambiance and it boasts of great shopping facilities as well as a lively nightlife, so there is definitely something for everybody to enjoy during your stay in this fantastic city. Call us about our cheap deals on flights, holidays and city breaks to experiences all that Rome has to offer.
Rome is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world due to its archaeological and artistic treasures.
A visit to the Colosseum is a must for any visitor to Rome. After your day of exploring, enjoy a café latte or an ice cream in one of the many restaurants dotted around this very historical city. A holiday to Rome is a truly unforgettable experience that will never be surpassed, that is for sure.
Rome is a city where you can enjoy countless pleasures, from the amazing thrill of feeling centuries of rough history under your feet, connecting with your inner gladiator at the Colosseum to joining an audience with the Pope at the Vatican or throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain.
If you haven't been to Rome before, it certainly is time to visit this magical city or if you are a regular visitor to one of the world's most photogenic cities, Rome is waiting for you.
If you'd like to visit other parts of Italy, we can offer cheap Venice flights and holidays, or you could plan a Munich holiday during your stay in Rome.
For cheap flights, holidays and city breaks to Rome from Dublin, Cork or Shannon, call us today.
Rome City Tour
Rome by Segway
Vatican Museums Walking Tour
Rome Hop-On - Hop-Off Bus Tour
Rome Walking Tour
Rome enjoys a Mediterranean climate with mild, humid winters and warm, dry summers. Its average annual temperature is above 20 °C (68 °F) during the day and 10 °C (50 °F) at night. In the coldest month – January, the average temperature is 12 °C (54 °F) during the day and 3 °C (37 °F) at night. In the warmest months – July and August, the average temperature is 30 °C (86 °F) during the day and 18 °C (64 °F) at night.
December, January and February are the coldest months, with average temperatures around 12.5 °C (54.5 °F) during the day and 3.6 °C (38.5 °F) at night. Temperatures generally vary between 10 and 15 °C (50 and 59 °F) during the day and between 3 and 5 °C (37 and 41 °F) at night, with colder or warmer spells occurring frequently. Snowfall is rare but not unheard of, with light snow or flurries occurring almost every winter, generally without accumulation, and major snowfalls once every 20 or 25 years.
The average relative humidity is 75%, varying from 72% in July to 77% in November. Sea temperatures vary from a low of 13 °C (55 °F) in February and March to a high of 24 °C (75 °F) in August.
The most convenient and economic way of getting around Rome is by far the Public Transit Bus service.
Buses run 24 hrs. a day and cover the entire city. Bus tickets and subway metro tickets are interchangeable within the time validity of the ticket. Validation begins by punching them into the ticket counter found on both the bus or subway. Keep the ticket with you at all times during your trip because if there should be a check by the controller, you could get a fine ranging from €40 to €70.
Tickets can be purchased in advance at any tobacconists (easily found by the blue sign with a capital T outlined in white found throughout the city) and from vending machines at both the train and metro stations. Tickets are not considered used until they are validated, so you can keep a supply of them. To validate your ticket you need to put it into one of the 3 machines the bus; one in the front, one in the middle and one at the back. The machine will beep if your ticket is not valid. Place the ticket in the machine with the arrow pointing down and facing you.
Rome offers 2 metro lines, Line A red line and Line B blue line, and their entrances are indicated by a large red sign marked with an M.
Line A runs from Battistini to Anagnina and includes stops near the Vatican Museums (Cipro), the Vatican (Ottaviano), the Cola di Rienzo shopping area (Lepanto), Piazza del Popolo (Flaminia), the Spanish Steps Spanish (Piazza di Spagna), Via Veneto (Barberini) and San Giovanni.
Line B runs from Rebibbia to Laurentina and includes stops near Eur, St. Pauls Outside the Walls (Basilica S. Paolo), Piramide (also the Ostiense train station), Circus Maximus (Circo Massimo), the Colosseum (Colosseo) and the Tiburtina train station. There will be signs in both the station and on the train showing the stops along the route. Your ticket will be validated when going through the turnstile.
Those with passes can walk through the open lane while showing their pass to the attendant.
The Vatican Museum
The Villa Borghese Gardens
The Catacombs
Cappuccin Crypt
The Colosseum
Trevi Fountain
Spanish Steps
Sistine Chapel
Roman Forum
Appian Way
Baths of Caracalla
St. Peter's Square
Saint Peter's Basilica
Fountain of Four Rivers
Roman Aqueducts
UTC/GMT +1 hour
Rome - The Eternal City
Club Travel Destinations


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Sanity vs. Invisible Markings
Tabs vs. spaces
Broken Hearts and Coffee Mugs
The ordeal of security reviews
Kode Vicious Plays in Traffic
With increasing complexity comes increasing risk.
Master of Tickets
Valuing the quality, not the quantity, of work
Numbers Are for Computers, Strings Are for Humans
How and where software should translate data into a human-readable form
Koding Academies
A low-risk path to becoming a front-end plumber
What is a CSO Good For?
Security requires more than an off-the-shelf solution.
MUST and MUST NOT
On writing documentation
The Worst Idea of All Time
Revelations at 100!
Know Your Algorithms
Stop using hardware to solve software problems.
Writing a Test Plan
Establish your hypotheses, methodologies, and expected results.
A Chance Gardener
Harvesting open-source products and planting the next crop
The Obscene Coupling Known as Spaghetti Code
Teach your junior programmers how to read code
Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud
Cache is king. And if your cache is cut, you're going to feel it.
Watchdogs vs. Snowflakes
Taking wild-ass guesses
Popping Kernels
Choosing between programming in the kernel or in user space
Reducing the Attack Surface
Sometimes you can give the monkey a less dangerous club.
Cold, Hard Cache
On the implementation and maintenance of caches
IoT: The Internet of Terror
If it seems like the sky is falling, that's because it is.
The Observer Effect
Finding the balance between zero and maximum
Forced Exception-Handling
You can never discount the human element in programming.
The Chess Player who Couldn't Pass the Salt
AI: Soft and hard, weak and strong, narrow and general
The Unholy Trinity of Software Development
Tests, documentation, and code
Cloud Calipers
Naming the next generation and remembering that the cloud is just other people's computers
Chilling the Messenger
Keeping ego out of software-design review
What Are You Trying to Pull?
A single cache miss is more expensive than many instructions.
GNL is Not Linux
What's in a Name?
Code Hoarding
Committing to commits, and the beauty of summarizing graphs
Pickled Patches
On repositories of patches and tension between security professionals and in-house developers
Hickory Dickory Doc
On null encryption and automated documentation
Lazarus Code
No one expects the Spanish Acquisition.
Raw Networking
Relevance and repeatability
Too Big to Fail
Visibility leads to debuggability.
Port Squatting
Don't irk your local sysadmin.
Outsourcing Responsibility
What do you do when your debugger fails you?
Forked Over
Shortchanged by open source
The Logic of Logging
And the illogic of PDF
This is the Foo Field
The meaning of bits and avoiding upgrade bog downs
Bugs and Bragging Rights
It's not always size that matters.
A Lesson in Resource Management
Waste not memory, want not memory—unless it doesn't matter
The Naming of Hosts is a Difficult Matter
Also, the perils of premature rebooting
Cherry-picking and the Scientific Method
Software is supposed be a part of computer science, and science demands proof.
Swamped by Automation
Whenever someone asks you to trust them, don't.
Divided by Division
Is there a best used-by date for software?
Code Abuse
One programmer's extension is another programmer's abuse.
Can More Code Mean Fewer Bugs?
The bytes you save today may bite you tomorrow
A Nice Piece of Code
Colorful metaphors and properly reusing functions
A System is not a Product
Stopping to smell the code before wasting time reentering configuration data
Scale Failure
Using a tool for the wrong job is OK until the day when it isn't.
The Network Protocol Battle:
A tale of hubris and zealotry
A tale of hubris and zealotry
Code Rototilling
KV hates unnecessary work.
Wanton Acts of Debuggery
Keep your debug messages clear, useful, and not annoying.
Debugging on Live Systems
It's more of a social than a technical problem.
How to Improve Security?
It takes more than flossing once a year.
File-system Litter
Cleaning up your storage space quickly and efficiently
Interviewing Techniques
Separating the good programmers from the bad
Storage Strife
Beware keeping data in binary format
Porting with Autotools
Using tools such as Automake and Autoconf with preexisting code bases can be a major hassle.
Bound by the Speed of Light
There's only so much you can do to optimize NFS over a WAN.
Gardening Tips
A good library is like a garden.
A Paucity of Ports
Debugging an ephemeral problem
Collecting Counters
Gathering statistics is important, but so is making them available to others.
Avoiding Obsolescence
Overspecialization can be the kiss of death for sysadmins.
Broken Builds
Frequent broken builds could be symptomatic of deeper problems within a development project.
Commitment Issues
When is the right time to commit changes?
Standards Advice
Easing the pain of implementing standards
Merge Early, Merge Often
Integrating changes in branched development
The Meaning of Maintenance
Software maintenance is more than just bug fixes.
Painting the Bike Shed
A sure-fire technique for ending pointless coding debates
Don't be Typecast as a Software Developer
Kode Vicious's temper obviously suffers from having to clean up after the mistakes of his peers. What would he have them learn now so that he can look forward to a graceful and mellow old age?
Pride and Prejudice:
(The Vasa)
What can software engineers learn from shipbuilders?
Debugging Devices
What is the proper way to debug malfunctioning hardware?
Get Real about Realtime
Dear KV, I'm working on a networked system that has become very sensitive to timing issues.
Beautiful Code Exists, if You Know Where to Look
A koder with attitude, KV answers your questions. Miss Manners he ain't.
Sizing Your System
A koder with attitude, KV answers your questions. Miss Manners he ain't.
The Virtue of Paranoia
A koder with attitude, KV answers your questions. Miss Manners he ain't.
Latency and Livelocks
"Dear KV: My company has a very large database with all of our customer information. The database is replicated to several locations around the world to improve performance locally, so that when customers in Asia want to look at their data, they don't have to wait for it to come from the United States, where my company is based..."
Poisonous Programmers
Dear KV, I hope you don't mind if I ask you about a non-work-related problem, though I guess if you do mind you just won't answer. I work on an open source project when I have the time, and we have some annoying nontechnical problems. The problems are really people, and I think you know the ones I mean: people who constantly fight with other members of the project over what seem to be the most trivial points, or who contribute very little to the project but seem to require a huge amount of help for their particular needs. I find myself thinking it would be nice if such people just went away, but I don't think starting a flame war on our mailing lists over these things would really help.
Take a Freaking Measurement!
Have you ever worked with someone who is a complete jerk about measuring everything?
The Next Big Thing
Dear KV, I know you did a previous article where you listed some books to read (Kode Vicious Bugs Out, April 2006). I would also consider adding How to Design Programs, available free on the Web (http://www.htdp.org/). This book is great for explaining the process of writing a program. It uses the Scheme language and introduces FP (functional programming). I think FP could be the future of programming. John Backus of the IBM Research Laboratory suggested this in 1977 (http://www.stanford.edu/class/cs242/readings/backus.pdf). Even Microsoft has yielded to FP by introducing FP concepts in C# with LINQ (Language Integrated Query).
Gettin' Your Head Straight
Kode Vicious is hungry. He sustains himself on your questions from the software development trenches (and lots of beer). Without your monthly missives, KV is like a fish out of water, or a scientist without a problem to solve. So please, do you part to keep him sane (or at least free from psychotic episodes), occupied, and useful.
KV the Loudmouth
What requirement is being satisfied by having Unclear build a P2P file-sharing system? Based upon the answer, it may be more effective, and perhaps even more secure, to use an existing open source project or purchase commercial software to address the business need.
Advice to a Newbie
Dear KV, I am new to programming and just started reading some books about programming, particularly C++ and Visual Basic. I truly enjoy programming a lot, to the extent that for the past couple of months I have never missed a day without writing some code. My main concern now is what the world holds for programmers. If someone is called a programmer (i.e., professionally), what will he or she really be programming? As in, will you always be inventing new software or what, really? This is mainly in the case of someone who will not be working for someone else.
APIs with an Appetite
Time for everyone's favorite subject again: API design. This one just doesn't get old, does it? Well, OK, maybe it does, but leave it to Kode Vicious to inject some fresh insight into this age-old programming challenge. This month KV turns the spotlight on the delicate art of API sizing.
A License to Kode
Code-scanning software is expensive and I'm not sure it's worth it. What do you think?
Peerless P2P
Dear KV, I've just started on a project working with P2P software, and I have a few questions. Now, I know what you're thinking, and no this isn't some copyright-violating piece of kowboy kode. It's a respectable corporate application for people to use to exchange data such as documents, presentations, and work-related information. My biggest issue with this project is security, for example, accidentally exposing our users data or leaving them open to viruses. There must be more things to worry about, but those are the top two. So, I want to ask "What would KV do?"
Understanding the Problem
Is there any data showing that Java projects are any more or less successful than those using older languages?
Saddle Up, Aspiring Code Jockeys
Dear KV, I am an IT consultant/contractor. I work mainly on networks (Im a Cisco Certified Network Associate) and Microsoft operating systems (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer). I have been doing this work for more than eight years. Unfortunately, it is starting to bore me. My question is: How would I go about getting back into programming? I say getting back into because I have some experience. In high school I took two classes of programming in Applesoft BASIC (archaic, I know). I loved it, aced everything, and was the best programming student the teacher ever saw. This boosted my interest in computer science, which I pursued in college.
Facing the Strain
Dear KV, I've been working on a software team that produces an end-user application on several different operating system platforms. I started out as the build engineer, setting up the build system, then the nightly test scripts, and now I work on several of the components themselves, as well as maintaining the build system. The biggest problem Ive seen in building software is the lack of API stability. It's OK when new APIs are added--you can ignore those if you like--and when APIs are removed I know, because the build breaks. The biggest problem is when someone changes an API, as this isn't discovered until some test script--or worse, a user--executes the code and it blows up.
Pointless PKI
We've had problems in the past with internal compromises, and management has decided that the only way to protect the information is to encrypt it during transmission.
Logging on with KV
Dear KV, I've been stuck with writing the logging system for a new payment processing system at work. As you might imagine, this requires logging a lot of data because we have to be able to reconcile the data in our logs with our customers and other users, such as credit card companies, at the end of each billing cycle, and we have to be prepared if there is any argument over the bill itself. I've been given the job for two reasons: because I'm the newest person in the group and because no one thinks writing yet another logging system is very interesting.
Phishing for Solutions
Re: phishing, doesn't the URL already give away enough information?
Kode Vicious Bugs Out
What do you do when tools fail?
Human-KV Interaction
We can't guarantee you'll agree with his advice, but it'll probably be more effective than anything you've tried thus far.
Gettin' Your Kode On
Dear KV, Simple question: When is the right time to call the c_str() method on a string to get the actual pointer?
Vicious XSS
For readers who doubt the relevance of KV's advice, witness the XSS attack that befell MySpace in October.
Kode Vicious:
The Doctor is In
A koder with attitude, KV answers your questions. Miss Manners he ain't.
Kode Vicious Unscripted
The problem? Computers make it too easy to copy data.
KV the Konqueror
Dear KV, Suppose I'm a customer of Sincere-and-Authentic's (Kode Vicious Battles On, April 2005:15-17), and suppose the sysadmin at my ISP is an unscrupulous, albeit music-loving, geek. He figured out that I have an account with Sincere-and-Authentic. He put in a filter in the access router to log all packets belonging to a session between me and S&A. He would later mine the logs and retrieve the music--without paying for it. I know this is a far-fetched scenario, but if S&A wants his business secured as watertight as possible, shouldn't he be contemplating addressing it, too? Yes, of course, S&A will have to weigh the risk against the cost of mitigating it, and he may well decide to live with the risk.
Kode Vicious Cycles On
Not only does California give you plenty of sun, it also apparently has employers that give you plenty of time to play around with the smaller problems that you like, in a programming language that's irrelevant to the later implementation.
Kode Vicious Gets Dirty
Dear Kode Vicious, I am a new Webmaster of a (rather new) Web site in my company's intranet. Recently I noticed that although I have implemented some user authentication (a start *.asp page linked to an SQL server, having usernames and passwords), some of the users found out that it is also possible to enter a rather longer URL to a specific page within that Web site (instead of entering the homepage), and they go directly to that page without being authenticated (and without their login being recorded in the SQL database).
Kode Vicious vs. Mothra
Dear KV, My co-workers keep doing really bad things in the code, such as writing C++ code with macros that have gotos that jump out of them, and using assert in lower-level functions as an error-handling facility. I keep trying to get them to stop doing these things, but the standard response I get is, "Yeah, it's not pretty, but it works." How can I get them to start asking, "Is there a better way to do this?" They listen to my arguments but don't seem convinced. In some cases they even insist they are following good practices.
Kode Vicious Battles On
Dear KV, I'm maintaining some C code at work that is driving me right out of my mind. It seems I cannot go more than three lines in any file without coming across a chunk of code that is conditionally compiled.
Kode Vicious Reloaded
The program should be a small project, but every time I start specifying the objects and methods it seems to grow to a huge size, both in the number of lines and the size of the final program.
Kode Vicious Unleashed
Dear KV, My officemate writes methods that are 1,000 lines long and claims they are easier to understand than if they were broken down into a smaller set of methods. How can we convince him his code is a maintenance nightmare?
Kode Vicious: The Return
Dear KV, Whenever my team reviews my code, they always complain that I don't check for return values from system calls. I can see having to check a regular function call, because I don't trust my co-workers, but system calls are written by people who know what they're doing--and, besides, if a system call fails, there isn't much I can do to recover. Why bother?
Kode Vicious Strikes Again
Dear Kode Vicious, I have this problem. I can never seem to find bits of code I know I wrote. This isn't so much work code--that's on our source server--but you know, those bits of test code I wrote last month, I can never find them. How do you deal with this?
Kode Vicious to the Rescue
Dear Kode Vicious, Where I work we use a mixture of C++ code, Python, and shell scripts in our product. I always have a hard time trying to figure out when it's appropriate to use which for a certain job. Do you code in only assembler and C, or is this a problem for you as well?


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=== Required Software and Extensions ===
=== Required Software and Extensions ===
At minimum, you will need the following software and extensions installed and enabled on your system in order to successfully install and run DreamFactory 2.
At minimum, you will need the following software and extensions installed and enabled on your system in order to successfully install and run DreamFactory 2.from GitHub.
* PHP 5.5+ - check and install the requirements below for your particular environment.
* PHP 5.5+ - check and install the requirements below for your particular environment.
Revision as of 18:10, 13 July 2016
DreamFactory is free open source software available under the Apache License 2.0.
DreamFactory runs on Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X.
There are many ways to try out and use DreamFactory. Follow the installation instructions below.
- 1 Free Hosted Developer Environment
- 2 Bitnami Desktop/Server Installers
- 3 Bitnami Virtual Machine
- 4 Docker Image
- 5 IaaS Clouds
- 6 PaaS Clouds
- 7 GitHub
- 8 Raspberry Pi 2
- 9 Additional Drivers and Modules
Free Hosted Developer Environment
Sign up for a free DreamFactory-hosted developer account at www.dreamfactory.com. Your developer environment is hosted by DreamFactory and lets you try out the software. It supports almost all of the available service types, including the paid services so you can try before you buy. It's kept updated with the latest releases and patches.
Please note that the hosted environment is for trying out the platform, not for running production applications. For production applications you should install DreamFactory for yourself using one of the methods described below.
Bitnami Desktop/Server Installers
You can download DreamFactory as a simple click-through installer for the following desktop operating systems. Most common extensions and drivers are pre-packaged and available in these installers.
- Linux (CentOS, Red Hat, Mint, Debian, and Ubuntu desktop and server).
- Mac OS X.
- Microsoft Windows (Windows 7, 8, 10 and Server 2008R2). Note: that some features may not be available or may be limited in this environment.
Bitnami Virtual Machine
You can download DreamFactory as a virtual machine for VMware, VirtualBox, or other hypervisor environments.
Docker Image
You can build your own Docker image or pull the latest Docker image from Docker Hub.
IaaS Clouds
You can easily install DreamFactory on IaaS cloud platforms with Bitnami. Follow the instructions below:
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Microsoft Azure
- Google Cloud Platform
- Oracle Cloud Platform
- CenturyLink
- 1&1 Cloud Platform
- IBM SoftLayer
- Rackspace
PaaS Clouds
You can install DreamFactory on PaaS cloud platforms (Platform as a Service). Follow the instructions below.
You can also install DreamFactory directly from GitHub. Follow the general instructions after taking care of the requirements for your particular environment.
Note: This quick setup instruction assumes that you are familiar with composer, git and the basics of how to setup a web and database server.
Required Software and Extensions
At minimum, you will need the following software and extensions installed and enabled on your system in order to successfully install and run DreamFactory 2.X from GitHub.
- PHP 5.5+ - check and install the requirements below for your particular environment.
- PHP required modules: curl, sqlite, mongodb (see below)
- Git - see https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Getting-Started-Installing-Git
- Composer - see https://getcomposer.org/download/, may require cURL to be installed from particular environment below.
- MongoDB driver (i.e. mongodb.so) - Versions >= 2.1 require the new MongoDB driver to be installed to run composer successfully. If MongoDB is not to be used on your install, please remove the df-mongodb requirement from composer.json before running composer install or upgrade.
Mac OS X
- Install v8js library
- Using MAMP
Using MAMP allows simple stack setup and has some extensions already included. It does not however include v8js. You can follow the above compile instructions and place the v8js.so file in the desired MAMP PHP extension directory. Also note that MAMP ships with an older version of MySQL (5.5) which does not support some databases options that you may run into, particularly dealing with timestamp fields.
To date, the best way to install DreamFactory on Windows is to use the Bitnami installer mentioned above. Some have had success running DreamFactory on existing WAMP stacks or even IIS. We don't currently have a set of installable instructions, but will address this in the near future.
Setup a Database
Install your native database and any additional drivers required for your database.
Switch System Database
If you want to change from one system database to another after you've already run setup/installation:
- Stop Apache
- Edit .env file (in the htdocs folder) to include the right driver, host, and port number. Example:
DB_DRIVER=mysql DB_HOST=localhost DB_DATABASE=dreamfactory DB_USERNAME=dreamfactory DB_PASSWORD=dreamfactory DB_PORT=3306
- In your shell navigate to the dreamfactory root folder (htdocs in Bitnami installs)
- Run these commands:
$ php artisan config:clear $ php artisan cache:clear $ php artisan dreamfactory:setup //Answer the on screen prompts
- Restart Apache
General Instructions
The commands shown here are primarily for a Linux based OS, but should also work on Windows (directory structure is obviously different) with all the required software and extensions installed.
- Clone this repository to a directory on your system. For testing, using a directory under your home directory is easiest, otherwise choices like /var/www/ or /opt may be preferred.
$ git clone https://github.com/dreamfactorysoftware/dreamfactory.git ~/df2
- Change your working path to that directory.
$ cd ~/df2
- Install dependencies using composer. For production environment, use --no-dev, otherwise discard that option for a development environment.
$ composer install --no-dev
- Run DreamFactory setup command-line wizard. This will set up your configuration and prompt you for things like database settings, first admin user account, etc. It will also allow you make environment settings changes midway and then run it again to complete the setup.
$ php artisan dreamfactory:setup
- Make sure your web server can read/write from/to storage/ (sub directories) and bootstrap/cache/ directories.
$ sudo chown -R {www user}:{your user group} storage/ bootstrap/cache/ $ sudo chmod -R 2775 storage/ bootstrap/cache/
Setup a web server
Use PHP's built in web server (**Note**:: Testing only, not for production use)...
$ php artisan serve
Or provision a web server to run your DreamFactory instance by following these instructions...
Raspberry Pi 2
You can install and configure DreamFactory on Raspberry Pi 2 as an open source IoT gateway. Follow the general instructions here.


text:
Carl Lavin, 89, died Tuesday after spending his life working to help the community
Although he had been all around the world, Canton was always Carl H. Lavin's home.
"He thought of himself as a Canton boy," Doug Lavin said of his father.
The elder Lavin, 89, died Tuesday at Aultman Hospice, after spending his life working to help the community.
During the 1960s, Lavin served six years at the helm of Sugardale, a business started by his grandfather, father and uncles. But he also helped dozens of other businesses in the community working with SCORE, originally known as the Service Corps of Retired Executives. He also consulted with the International Executive Corps, visiting several counties and advising business owners.
Doug Lavin said his father believed that by helping local businesses, he was helping the community grow. Likewise, helping businesses develop in other countries helped those countries grow.
Lavin's wife of 60 years, Audrey Lavin, accompanied him on his more than 20 overseas assignments. She often taught at a nearby university as Lavin worked to teach businesses the keys to economic success.
"He was extremely successful. Extremely. You could tell by the way people talked to him and the way they treated us as a couple," she said.
Lavin always was focused on building up other people, she said.
"He always brought out the best in everybody, but he also brought others forward," she said. "He was not as interested in getting his name out there as showing other people the way."
Lavin also served as a mentor close to home. He helped Ben Vittoria, an Akron-based franchise owner, acquire his first restaurant and gave Vittoria a loan to open his second. Lavin was never interested in making money (from the loan), he was more interested in helping out, Vittoria said.
"He had a strong moral compass that really helped keep things in perspective," Vittoria said, adding that Lavin's guidance always amplified integrity and character.
Lavin believed that if something was morally wrong with a business transaction, you should walk away, no matter how lucrative, Vittoria said.
Over the years, despite his busy schedule and failing health, Lavin always found time to stay in touch, he said. "I think that's a great loss to not only me, but other people Carl took under his wing and mentored."
Lavin joined the Army after graduating Lehman High School in 1942. He served as an infantryman and carried a Browning Automatic Rifle. In December 1944, his unit was caught in the Ardennes region of Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge when German forces made a last counter attack.
After World War II, he graduated from Miami of Ohio and returned home to work in the family business. His education continued with programs at Harvard University, Akron University, Walsh University and Malone University.
Lavin was involved in a plethora of area organizations and non-profits, including the Stark Wilderness Center.
Lavin served as a long-time board member, including sessions as vice president and president of the organization. The center's most profitable fundraiser, the Earthly Delights auction, was one of Lavin's pet projects, said Gordon Maupin, executive director.
Lavin was active in the organization when Maupin came on board more than 32 years ago and acted as a father figure, said Maupin, who is set to retire at the end of February.
"We didn't have two nickels to rub together, and Carl helped keep us afloat with his leadership," he said.
Lavin had a love of the natural world and a passion for community service, Maupin said. He had a civic duty to make the region where he grew up a better place, he added.
"The world's going to miss him. No question. I personally will miss him a lot," Maupin said. "He's a hard one to see go."


text:
ST. ALBANS, Vt. — Competing against teams from as far away as Ottawa, Ontario, the Seacoast National Selects U-12 girls hockey team posted an undefeated record and captured the tournament championship at the Rail City Challenge, held in St. Albans, Vt., over the weekend of Jan. 25-27.
After cruising through their first two games by a combined score of 14-2, with Bridget Babcock and Kathryn White leading the scoring, the Nationals third game was a pairing with tournament hosts St. Alban's, who had yet to lose in the tournament. After absorbing St. Albans pressure for most of the first period, Mikayla Vincent made a cross ice pass to Katie Strauss, who broke the deadlock with a backhand spin move. A second goal and a defensive effort led by Ashley Keaveney, Katie Kopecky, Robin Potter, and Gretel St. Lawrence held off St. Albans by a 2-0 score. The semifinals featured a rematch with St. Albans, and they were once again shutout by the Nationals, this time by a 1-0 score.
The championship featured an all-Granite State matchup against the Concord Capitals, who also brought an unbeaten record to the finals, and who also had allowed just 2 goals in the tournament. The Nationals dominated long stretches of the game with relentless forechecking and backchecking by Lilli Poitras, Kate Irons, and Alyssa Civiello throughout the game. But the Nats could not break down the Concord defense until late in the second period, when Dakota Markey collected a puck in traffic and beat the Concord goalie high on the blocker side to give her side a 1-0 lead. Nationals goalie Maddox Angerhofer shut the door on Concord for the remaining time, earning her third consecutive shutout.
The U-12 team is coached by Kevin Keaveney, John Potter, and Craig Strauss. The Nationals are part of the Seacoast Women's Hockey Association, which is dedicated to the promotion, growth, and development of girls' and women's ice hockey in the New Hampshire Seacoast region. For more information, please visit http://seacoast.goalline.ca/


text:
Today at a used book store, I picked up a copy of the book The Children, by David Halberstam. It was published in 1998 and follows about 12 college students through the Civil Rights movement here in Nashville. How fitting a book to pick up the day before MLK holiday. Should be an interesting book! I've added it to the slowly growing Bibliography page.
The Children – by David Halberstam
Posted by Taneya on January 21, 2008
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Author Profile
Mike Elk
Mike Elk wrote for In These Times and its labor blog, Working In These Times, from 2010 to 2014. He is currently a labor reporter at Politico.
Mike Elk is a Pittsburgh native and labor journalist whose investigative work has been cited on the front page of the New York Times and debated by Whoopi Goldberg and Barbara Walters on ABC's The View. Elk won a Sidney Award for his coverage of how corporations crafted legislation to exempt prison labor from U.S. minimum wage laws. A frequent guest on MSNBC and Democracy Now!, Elk has also written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Reuters and The Nation.
He lives in Washington, D.C. but is often on the road. From the Wisconsin State Capitol to the clubhouses of Major League Baseball to the fried chicken joints of Chattanooga, Tenn., Elk has been there to get the inside scoop.
Follow him on twitter @MikeElk.
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SAN FRANCISCO, California-A new UCSF analysis of tobacco industry documents shows that Philip Morris USA manipulated data on the effects of additives in cigarettes, including menthol, obscuring actual toxicity levels and increasing the risk of heart, cancer and other diseases for smokers.
Tobacco industry information can't be taken at face value, the researchers conclude. They say their work provides evidence that hundreds of additives, including menthol, should be eliminated from cigarettes on public health grounds.
The article is published in PLoS Medicinehttps://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001145
In the new, independent study, the scientists reassessed data from Philip Morris' "Project MIX," which detailed chemical analyses of smoke and animal toxicology studies of 333 cigarette additives. Philip Morris, the nation's largest tobacco company, published its findings in 2002.
By investigating the origins and design of Project MIX, the UCSF researchers conducted their own inquiry into the Philip Morris results. They stressed that many of the toxins in cigarette smoke substantially increased after additives were added to cigarettes.
They also found, after obtaining evidence that additives increased toxicity, that tobacco scientists adjusted the protocol for presenting their results in a way that obscured these increases.
"We discovered these post-hoc changes in analytical protocols after the industry scientists found that the additives increased cigarette toxicity by increasing the number of fine particles in the cigarette smoke that cause heart and other diseases," said senior author Stanton A. Glantz, PhD, UCSF professor of medicine and director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at UCSF.
"When we conducted our own analysis by studying additives per cigarette – following Philip Morris' original protocol — we found that 15 carcinogenic chemicals increased by 20 percent or more," he said.
Additionally, in the independent study, the researchers discovered the reason behind Philip Morris' failure to identify many toxic effects in animal studies: its studies were too small.
"The experiment was too small in terms of the number of rats analyzed to statistically detect important changes in biological effects," Glantz said. "Philip Morris underpowered its own studies."
The results of "Project MIX" were first published as four papers in a 2002 edition of Food and Chemical Toxicology, a journal whose editor and many members of its editorial board had financial ties to the tobacco industry. While Philip Morris was trying to get the papers published, the company scientist who led Project Mix sent an email to a colleague describing the peer review process as "an inside job."https://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/ekw86a00/pdf?search=%22inside%20job%20philip%20morris%20project%20mix%20email%22
In the new study, the researchers used documents made public as a result of litigation against the tobacco industry. The documents are available to the public through UCSF's Legacy Tobacco Documents Library.
Co-authors of the study include Marcia Wertz, RN, PhD, of UCSF's Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
A video describing the paper is available athttps://www.scivee.tv/node/37778.
The study was supported by the National Cancer Institute.
UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care.
Source:University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)


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from the starring-nick-nolte-and-eddie-murphy dept.
The Opposable Thumbs blog covers a 48-hour-long "game jam" at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia. Twenty teams of game developers — 16 indie and four professional — compete over a weekend to build a functional game based on a few deliberately vague keywords. This article documents the brainstorming sessions and the early prototyping work. Quoting:"The teams become less talkative as midnight draws near and the individual team members all settle down into their jobs. Everybody seems determined to not let sleep take over just yet. I take a tour of some of the other teams. Badgers are being animated, leg movements first with static bodies above them. Other teams have no art yet and just use colored rectangles as they get the mechanics down. Others are still sketching beautiful concept art and coding level editors.'To move around the room is to hear random snippets of creativity and math. 'If we move the z-axis, too, we can do this thing' or 'what if we procedurally generated that object.' In this one spot, sixteen games are coming into being that weren't even concepts eight hours ago."


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Just three months after suffering a severe spinal injury, trials rider extraordinaire Martyn Ashton has released the second Road Bike Party video. This amazing 6-minute compilation of jaw-dropping stunts further bends the rules of what one can do on a road bike, say for instance ride up a tree or jump a tennis court net.
The new clip easily eclipsed 500,000 views on the first day, and is surely headed to the lofty heights of its predecessor. The target="_blank">first video in the series pulled in over 9 million sets of eyeballs on YouTube since its release in 2012 and as is still going strong. In both videos, Ashton swaps his customary trials bike for a swanky Colnago C59 Disc roadster.
In early September, Ashton suffered a tragic accident during a bicycle trials demo at a Moto GP event in England, dislocating his T9 and T10 vertebrae, which left him paralyzed and in a wheelchair. It also cast doubt as to whether the second video in the Road Bike Party would ever be finished.
But thanks to close friends Danny MacAskill and Chris Akrigg (who both appear in the new video), Ashton and videographer Robin Kitchin completed the film.
"It's very different to what I planned but I'm really starting to love it and care for it," Ashton said. "It's a brilliant collection — you can lose the fact that we're on a road bike as it just looks like a great piece of riding. The first Road Bike Party was all about it being a road bike but this one, the road bike doesn't get a chance — the stuff that we do collectively is beyond what would be 'normal' for a trials bike. It's exceptional."
Check out the extensive photo gallery at the bottom of Page 5 to see Ashton's bike and some amazing shots of his stunts, and click over to Page 2 to read an extensive feature story written by Ashton's PR team about his life, his accident, and how he is moving forward.


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In my previous blog post, I had this family, where the birth dates were not know.
In the earlier Blog post, I used the Sort Children ICON as seen above. This time, I will use the Tools Menu to Sort the Children.
This choice will suggest that you Back Up your file.
It is my STRONG RECOMMENDATION that you take advantage of that feature.
Back to the Sort ICON on the Tree View, we will be given choices as to what children to sort. In this case, we are going to choose "Sort the families by birth"
The Back Up window, in either case (Tools menu or the Tree View)
Copyright © 2013 by H R Worthington


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- This event has passed.
Creative Connections
February 26, 2019 @ 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every week that begins at 1:00 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, repeating indefinitely
Event Navigation
Join Brendan in the Cafe to partake in this social, arts-based creative expression workshop. All materials are supplied. We look forward to seeing you there!


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Since not everyone here reads the Marathon Story Forum, I thought it might be worth noting something very (very) tangentially Marathon-related that I just posted about over there.
TL;DR version: 20 years ago today I started writing an enormous story, this year I finally started putting actual effort into it, and now it's almost kinda-sorta readable and I'd love it if anyone would acknowledge the fact that it even exists. It's called The Chronicles of Quelouva.


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I have one question. I noticed that when I use a FileDialog, every command that follows making the FileDialog to be visible only continues only after I close the FileDialog.
But I am looking to make the same with a JDialog window. It is bad that sometimes I use the Dialog to set a value that the commands that follow making it visible need that value, and you guess.. I get a lot of NullPointerExceptions. How can I make the main Frame to "sleep" until I close the Dialog?


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Pictures with names
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday with names
I Love You
I Love You with names
Data: 850x531 | 39 Kb
Data: 1024x600 | 164 Kb
Data: 700x540 | 107 Kb
Data: 597x483 | 212 Kb
Data: 700x516 | 146 Kb
Data: 520x520 | 68 Kb
In this section, you can choose to view and download your favorite pictures with name Amos. Total of 6pcs., just scroll the page. If possible, be sure to share with other users - add your own pictures and images with names.


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LTI® 1.3 and LTI Advantage
|LTI Advantage Resources
|Public Documents
|IMS Member Resources
- Introduction of the IMS Security Framework specification prescribing improved security based on OAuth2 and JSON Web Tokens
- Improved documentation and migration guidance to help move the market from the benefits of basic launch to the full suite of LTI possibilities
- Alignment with the LTI Advantage set of services that enable a fully integrated and innovative digital ecosystem
LTI ADVANTAGE is a package of three essential end-user services that build on LTI 1.3. Together, these standards implement features that support key teaching and learning activities, such as the provisioning of usernames and roles so a tool can intelligently address the learner on launch, and the exchange of assignments from a platform to an assessment tool and the subsequent scores back to a central gradebook. Watch the Get to Know LTI Advantage video.
LTI Advantage
LTI Services Build on Core LTI
Click for the Recommended LTI Adoption Roadmap
LTI Advantage Resources for IMS Members (login required)
LTI 1.3 and LTI Advantage Reference Implementation
- Reference Implementation (RI): IMS members can now test your product(s) when implementing LTI 1.3 and LTI Advantage using the provided Platform and Tool with the full set of services and messages. The Reference Implementation source code (written in Ruby) is also available to IMS Contributing Members. Contact Us if you are a Contributing Member and would like access.
- LTI Member Roundtable: monthly meeting recordings and resources
- LTI Advantage Certification FAQ
LTI 1.3 new optional services:
These new optional services work within the LTI 1.3 and LTI Advantage framework to solve specific use cases or business needs. Currently, these new services are not included in LTI Advantage. You must be an IMS Contributing, Affiliate, or Learning Tools and Content Alliance member to access these Member Candidate Final draft documents.
- Submission Review 1.0 Member Candidate Final
- Caliper Analytics Connector 1.0 Member Candidate Final
- Course Group Service 1.0 Member Candidate Final
- Proctoring Service 1.0 Public Candidate Final (See more on the LTI Proctoring Service)
Public Documents and Resources
LTI Core Specification
LTI Advantage Specifications
- Assignment and Grade Services v2.0
- Names and Role Provisioning Services v2.0
- NRPS OpenAPI Swagger view (coming soon)
- Deep Linking v2.0
- LTI Advantage Implementation Guide
- LTI Advantage Conformance Certification Guide
- LTI Migration Guide
LTI 1.3 Reference Implementation
- Reference Implementation - Provides a Platform and Tool with basic functionality to test your product(s) when implementing LTI 1.3.
An enhanced version of the Test Tool with the full set of LTI Advantage services and message types is available to IMS members.
IMS-wide Security Framework
LTI Security Update
- IMS LTI Security Update v1.0 - Final Release (22 July 2019) addresses a potential Cross-Site Request Forgery threat in earlier versions of LTI (v1.0 and v1.1.1).
LTI Resource Search
Previous Version Specification Documents
- LTI v1.1.1 (with Mentor Role)
- Deep Linking v1.0
- Names and Role Provisioning Service v1.0
- LTI Basic Outcomes v1.1
Previous Version Specification Documents
- VIEW ALL LTI and IMS specifications
LTI in Brief
The IMS Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) standard prescribes a way to easily and securely connect learning applications and tools with platforms like learning management systems (LMS), portals and learning object repositories on your premise or in the cloud, in a secure and standard manner and without the need for expensive custom programming. Using LTI, if you have an interactive assessment application or virtual chemistry lab, it can be securely connected to your LMS with a few clicks. LTI is comprised of a central core and optional services to add optional features and functions. The LTI core establishes a secure connection and confirms the tool's authenticity while the extensions add features like the exchange of assignment and grade data between an assessment tools and your LMS gradebook.
IMS Global has testing programs that enable products to be certified compliant with specific standards and features of the standards. For technology suppliers, participation in the IMS Global certification process is the fastest and most cost-effective way to achieve product integrations. For institutions, ensuring that your educational technology tools are IMS Global certified is the best way to establish a plug-and-play ecosystem, allowing your tools and content to work together seamlessly, giving you more choice, and reducing your total cost of ownership. IMS Global members have access to expert support to implement the standards prior to completing conformance certification. Learn more to begin taking advantage of the benefits of certification.
Remember to log into the site first to see a complete list of the resources available to you. Some resources are only available to IMS Global members. If you are an IMS Global member but do not have a login, you can create one here. If you cannot find what you need, try posting a message to the forum.
See Also
The following specifications may also be of interest:


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Pollution Experts Serving Manitoba
Change State | Show all Manitoba experts
Find a Pollution Expert
Experts in the pollution of air, water and waste, caused by paints, coatings and plating operations, chemical manufacturing, general manufacturing, mining and other industries. Also specialize in pollution prevention methods. Pollution experts serve as expert witnesses and forensic consultants in Manitoba legal matters, and provide expert reports and testimony for judges, attorneys, lawyers, law firms, insurance companies and government agencies in Federal and state court trials and arbitrations in Manitoba.
The listings below are of Pollution experts serving Manitoba.
Expert ListingsMET Associates
Dr. David L. Mitchell, PhD
Dayton, TX
Expert Witness Testimony for Forensic Meteorology, Weather Event Re-Construction, and Industrial Air Pollution Cases. Cases Include Air Quality Modeling, Severe Storms, Wind & Flood Damage.
No Pollution Enterprises
Nicholas Cheremisinoff
Charles Town, WV
Dr. Nicholas P. Cheremisinoff is a chemical engineer with more than 35 years of industry applied research and international consulting experiences. He renders opinions based on a careful reconstruction of facility practices. He and his staff develop the source terms needed to quantify exposures and doses.
Heritage Technical Services, Inc.
Chuck Dutill
West Chester, PA
40+ Years of Experience (Nationwide): Wastewater Treatment, Septic System, Pollution, Sewer System, Overflow, Sanitary Sewage, Groundwater, Backup, Mold, Hydrogeology, Drinking Water, Water Treatment, Air Quality, Water Quality, Contamination, Toxicity, Hazardous Waste, Industrial Waste, Solid Waste, Spill, Storage, Remediation, Health and Safety, Modeling, Odor, Soil, Regulation, Combined Sewer, Aquifer, Hydraulic Fracturing, Sedimentation, Erosion, Monitoring, Design, Maintenance, Inspection, Surface Water, Biosolids/Sludge, Compliance, Wetland, Standard of Care
Paul Ireland
Paul Ireland
Centennial, CO
I am a technical specialist in air pollution control with over 40 years experience and have provided expert witness reports and testimony for a variety of projects over the past 10 years. I have provided project management on numerous environmental projects where strict compliance with federal and local laws is required. I am a consultant to projects for particulate, SO2, NOx, mercury and CO2 control and have provided expert testimony in air pollution control, performance and cost. I have published over 50 technical papers and reports on various aspects of air pollution control.
Ernest P. Chiodo, MD, JD, MPH, MS, MBA, CIH
Clinical and Forensic Medicine
Chicago, IL
MD & JD (Wayne State), MPH (Harvard), MS (Biomedical Engineering and Toxicology-WSU), MBA (University of Chicago), MS (University of Oxford), CIH. Physician, Attorney, Certified Industrial Hygienist, Toxicologist & Epidemiologist. Former Medical Director of the Detroit Health Department. Board certified in internal med, occupational & environ. med, & public health. Inducted into the Engineering Hall of Fame (Wayne State University).


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KIOSK Pest
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Part 31
The three walked silently as they interweaved their paths through backyards, over fences and ducking behind cars. None of them had weapons, so the best tactic was to go undetected by the dead. Dennis remembered seeing a small diner on the other side of town, closer to our place. It was pointless to try and run around in the dark, especially unarmed. They quickly decided it would be best to find a safe location to hunker down in for the night. Who knew if the dead could smell a living person? Similar to a snake detecting the heat of it's prey. If this were the case, then zombies would have quite an advantage in the dark.
The diner would be locked up tight. But if it wasn't, then we could assume the location was compromised and the dead may be inside. Chris found a baseball bat, Dennis found a lead pipe and the woman found a golf club. They walked up slowly to the little diner with metallic silver siding. Chris kept jumping at his own reflection as they trailed the wall, peering into the windows. Until they got to the front door. There were two sets of double doors. So far so good, the big, glass doors were clean and they were locked.
Chris and the woman stayed by the front doors while Dennis broke into the kitchen door. The overwhelming smell of rotten fruit clawed at Dennis's eyes causing them to tear. It wouldn't matter if there weren't any zombies inside if it still smelled like there was. As he blinked hard and caught his breath he closed his eyes and listened. Nothing. If there had there been a zombie in the this putrid smelling kitchen it would have been alerted by his kicks to the door. Still nothing. He ran across the kitchen, through the single swing door, out into the main dining area, over to the register and thanked his luck that it wasn't an electric cash register. It was an old analogue one. He hit the total sales key and the drawer popped open. A set of keys with a small silver elephant keychain rattled quietly.
Dennis had worked in a diner very similar to this one when he was in high school. His dad had been the cook. He was always the first one in the kitchen and the last one out. Dennis had helped him close up many times and the cash drawer was always where the front door keys were kept. He unlocked the double glass entrance doors and gave a quiet whistle. Chris and the woman ran out from the shadows, closing the doors behind them. The front of the restaurant didn't smell bad at all. The foul air was almost only present in the kitchen. They managed to move a small fridge over to close the broken back door.
They found new jars of olives, Marchiano cherries, ketchup, packets of sugar and salt behind the counter. There was even warm bottles of water in a corner of the dark display fridge. The cakes and pies had long turned into festering, moldy mounds under their glass covers. They rotted and dried up long ago and now only remained as dark gray and blue carcasses. The three made a bizarre meal out of the condiments and garnishes they had found.
Chris explained how he had been tied up in a room with leather whips and chains on the walls. His restraints hadn't been tied properly and he was able to loosen them. Frank didn't notice and kept raving on and on about his daughters. Eventually Chris came up with the idea to tell Frank that he had met other survivors, women survivors who had little girls with them. Chris made a deal to tell Frank where they were if he promised to let him go when he came back with the women. Frank immediately agreed and no sooner than Chris had given him the fake address and fake descriptions of the women, Frank was gone. This is when Chris got free and ran down to the first floor. That's when he heard strange noises coming from the pantry.
Sounds of the undead eating, feasting, killing. At first, when he looked in the pantry, it didn't make sense. The boxes of pancake mix were neatly stacked on one wall. Aunt Jemima smiled happily wearing her new strands of pearls. That's when Chris saw the back wall wasn't straight. Frank had accidentally left the hidden door slightly open. Chris peered into the dark, moist, bloody room. The scene of horror was overwhelming. He had to find Dennis and get out of this house of horrors. After searching the room and finding the exit Chris went back into the house. Searching the top floor downward. Finally finding the basement door, feeling the woman's warm body in the darkness, freeing her and then releasing Dennis.
Dennis thanked Chris and put another three olives in his mouth.
"I wish I had a martini to go with these olives." the woman said.
Chris and Dennis look up at her and chuckled.
"I'd take booze of any kind right now." Dennis chimed in.
"Too bad this isn't a bar." Chris replied.
The three stopped eating and looked at each other before bursting out laughing. They quickly stopped but for a split second the world was a happy place.
"Guess we can bond as friends in the best way, like only alcoholics can." the woman said as she pulled out a bottle of wine from the far end of the counter.
"Damn, did I just die and go to heaven?" Chris joked. " What did you say your name was again?" Chris asked the woman searching for a bottle opener.
She put her fingers round the top of the cork screw and began turning. The silver twist lowered into the cork, further and further down. Each twist bringing the promise of booze closer to their lips.
"My name is Grace." The bottled popped open and Grace looked at the two men with a smile. Something about her was relaxing and comforting. They spent the night drinking and whispering on the floor of the diner. Once in a while a shadow would appear to be moving somewhere on the other side of the windows.
The Zombie apocalypse is soon at hand are you ready?
Monday, November 15, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
REVIEW of The Walking Dead on AMC
Like many of you out there I watched the premiere of The Walking Dead on Halloween night. I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed.
I read the first compendium of The Walking Dead and it is a must read for any zombie fan. That's why I don't understand why the director of the TV show didn't follow the perfectly made storyboard (comic book) already available.
Within the first 3-5 minutes of the show I was unhappy. I feel like they tried to explain too much through dialogue instead of just letting the viewer learn about the characters through their actions. You don't watch a movie or show to have a story told to you, you watch to have a story shown to you. The pace of the TV show left me shocked at how little they showed in 90 minutes. Disappointing.
On a good note, I think that the casting so far is pretty on point and the zombies look fantastic. I am glad that they used real extras for the zombies instead of trying to do it all in post with CG effects.
Overall, I feel like they should have stayed truer to the comic and not tried to ad lib so much and the makeup and visual effects rock! I will be glued to my TV faithfully next Sunday night for the next installment of The Walking Dead on AMC. Hopefully it gets better from here (fingers crossed).
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Work in Progress
A podcast about the meaning and identity we find in work
A cab driver (who escaped enslavement on the underground railroad). The owner of a Jewish appetizing store (who quit being an engineer to join the family business). Some guy on Snapchat (who turned it into a career).
Behind every working human,
there's a story.
Work in Progress is Slack's new podcast about the meaning and identity we find in work. Join host Dan Misener for stories of personal ambition and debilitating insecurities, great successes and abject failures, the plans we make and the luck that…happens.
Every weekend, you can listen to a new Work in Progress episode on Sirius XM. Episodes are available the following Mondays on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and through apps like Stitcher.
What's Slack, you say?
Glad you asked! Slack makes an app that helps teams at companies, big and small, communicate and do their work in a more transparent and productive manner. We're a global company working seamlessly across our offices around the world, and it's our goal to help others do the same.
Why did we make this podcast?
In short: Because we make software for working people, we're genuinely fascinated by work, how work is changing, and how the nature of how we think about ourselves as working people is also changing. What you do for a living means a lot—to yourself, and to others. This podcast, along with the stories produced by the Slack Editorial team for our blog, explores this very theme. Our hunch—and hope—is listeners and readers will relate to a lot of these stories, and find them useful and interesting when reflecting on their own life's work. Read the long answer here.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play and wherever you find podcasts.


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You've seen Tyrion drink mead on Game of Thrones, and both Robin Hood and Beowulf have quaffed the ancient beverage on the big screen in the past few years, but did you know that mead-honey wine has been and is still the largest growing…Read More
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Top 10 Polish Vodkas to Sip Neat
The Pandemic is Changing How We Drink – Here's How
How To Make a Perfect Gin Gimlet
7 Vodkas That Mix an Excellent Martini
Stella Rosa Launches Three New Flavors
August 7, 2020
Chillin' with Lady Bunny
August 6, 2020
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Celebrity Chef Nick Liberato Best Tips for Bartenders on Building Their Brand
Aurora – Crystal Head Vodka
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July 31, 2020
July 30, 2020
Drink in History: The Brandy Alexander
July 29, 2020
On Location: The Distillery without a Still
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July 28, 2020
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Politicos from both parties gathered across South Florida to watch Thursday night's debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Republican VP candidate Paul Ryan at separate events.
As Biden and Ryan went head-to-head, Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart watched from an Irish pub in Coral Gables, with Mitt Romney's son Craig nearby.
WATCH: Full Biden-Ryan Debate
Craig Romney said the debates are good gauges, unfiltered and free-flowing conversations that worked well for his dad.
""I think it's very important, I think to a large degree a lot of people just know him by his opponent's ads or by what they see in the paper," Romney said of his father. "When they really just see him for who he is, I think they see a different side than what they expected."
Ann Romney on Her Family and the Campaign Trail
Meanwhile, Obama supporters gathered at a party in South Beach. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was in attendance at the party organized by Dan Gelber.
"Clearly different types of people with clearly different agendas," Gelber said. "The president's agenda is one that cares about everyday people and the Romney agenda is one that cares about a very narrow swath of very wealthy special interests."
Obama on Romney's 'Extreme Makeover'
The debate came as a new Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times poll shows Romney has a large lead over Obama in Florida. According to the poll, Romney has a 7 percentage-point lead, making it 51-44.
It's an 8-point shift from last month and indicates the key factor for the jump is Romney's performance in last week's presidential debate.
Joe Biden Laughs All Over Twitter
The poll measured 800 likely Florida voters who were surveyed in October and September in the South Florida, Tampa and Orlando areas.
The Herald poll shows the biggest boost to Romney's numbers in Florida came from independent voters. Florida is one of the big swing states he must get in his favor to win the general election, which is now less than 30 days away.