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using System.Threading;
namespace Microsoft.Build.Logging.StructuredLogger
{
/// <summary>
/// Class representation of an MSBuild overall build execution.
/// </summary>
public class Build : TimedNode
{
public StringCache StringTable { get; } = new StringCache();
public bool IsAnalyzed { get; set; }
public bool Succeeded { get; set; }
public string LogFilePath { get; set; }
public byte[] SourceFilesArchive { get; set; }
public BuildStatistics Statistics { get; set; } = new BuildStatistics();
public override string TypeName => nameof(Build);
public override string ToString() => $"Build {(Succeeded ? "succeeded" : "failed")}. Duration: {this.DurationText}";
public TreeNode FindDescendant(int index)
{
int current = 0;
var cts = new CancellationTokenSource();
TreeNode found = default;
VisitAllChildren<TimedNode>(node =>
{
if (current == index)
{
found = node;
cts.Cancel();
}
current++;
}, cts.Token);
return found;
}
}
}
| Mid | [
0.6004228329809721,
35.5,
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] |
Pages 10 Tips for Working From Your Home Studio Wednesday, January 25, 2012 I have a full-time gig that I work everyday, but once I come home, there is still plenty of work to be done. Eventually I would like to work for myself full-time and not have other obligations but for now this is my situation. Working from home can be great, but there are other distractions that get in your way. It's important whether you work out of your home full-time or only two hours a day, that you set a list of boundaries and guidelines. These are the top 10 I have found to be most helpful. 01 | CREATE A WORKSPACE. This is oh so very important. Especially for me, someone who is very visual. If you are working from home either part-time or full-time be sure to create a space that is specially yours. It can be an entire room, a nook in the kitchen, or a desk in the family room. Whatever it is make the space yours, and only yours. Use colors and patterns that inspire you, get fresh flowers regularly for your desk, have an inspiration board. Do whatever you can to create a welcoming and creative space for yourself so you can get down to business when the time comes. 02 | GET DRESSED. This isn't typically a problem for me because when I work from home, it's after typical business hours and I am already dressed from my day job. I don't know about y'all, but when I look good, I feel good. You don't have to spend an hour getting ready each day, but for Heaven's sake, get out of your PJs. Pajamas say, let's be lazy and stay under the covers. Dressing yourself will help to get in the mindset needed to be productive. 03 | REMOVE DISTRACTIONS. Turn the TV off. I know that your favorite Real Housewives may be on, but DVR that smut. Just the background noise can make your mind wander and help you to lose focus. Instead, choose a genre of music that really gets the inspiration flowing. Also, be sure to make your family and friends aware of your office hours (more on this below). It can be kind of hard to draw the line when working from home, especially for you mompreneurs out there, but it's important to your productivity. 04 | SET OFFICE HOURS. Setting office hours may help a little with drawing the line I was talking about in No. 3. If you set a certain amount of hours at the same time each day then friends and family will know you are working and will hopefully respect your home work hours the way you do their at-work work hours. This is also good for yourself since when you're at home its easy to keep pushing through until your finished. During your set office hours, push through that to-do list. When your office hours are over, shut down the computer and concentrate on the other life responsibilities you have. 05 | MAKE A LIST OF SET GOALS TO ACCOMPLISH. Having a list of set goals you want to accomplish each day will extremely help your productivity. If you know exactly what you want to accomplish, you can stay focused and keep hustling until you are able to mark off each one of those tasks. I don't know about you, but I sincerely enjoy checking off things from my to-do lists! It's the little things! 06 | STAY ORGANIZED. Ha. I am giggling to myself as I type this, but I really do mean it. I am not the most organized person. In fact I am terribly unorganized - to the untrained eye, that is. I myself like to call it organized chaos! :) But in all seriousness, if piles of junk and clutter invade my workspace, I find that I am easily distracted. I can't seem to stay focused on the task at hand and instead find myself thinking about everything but. 07 | SWITCH IT UP. Don't be afraid to head to your local coffee shop or Panera Bread. In college, I used to head to Panera or the library to get my work done. I found that when I was outside of the comfort of my couch, I stayed focused, mostly because I wanted to get it done and go home to hang out with my roommates. I still find that to be true today. If I am up for a deadline and I just can't seem to stay focused, I will leave the house. Sometimes all you need is another environment to get you back on track. 08 | TAKE BREAKS. When you are working from home it can be easy to just grab a quick snack for lunch or dinner and head right back to your computer. If you were working in an office for someone else, you would take a full hour for your lunch or 15 minutes for a break. It's important to do the same when working for yourself. It's crucial to give your brain the break it needs in order to return refreshed, focused, and ready to complete work. 09 | KNOW WHEN TO STEP AWAY. As I said before, set office hours, and when your day is over, be done. Use your work hours for work-related items and the rest of your time for personal tasks, such as making the bed, running to the grocery, taking a shower, or spending time with friends and family. 10 | SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS. Be sure to keep plenty of stamps and stationery around. You never know when you will need to mail a bill or send a thank you note. Keeping the proper supplies around can save you a lot of time as well as make life easier. Also, take the time at the end of the day to prepare for the next. Get all of those 'to-do's' floating around in your head down onto paper. By creating a game plan you will be able to get right to work without much thought and without fear of forgetting something from the day before. There ya have it! My list - mostly compiled by trial and error - for creating a productive work-from-home environment. You will find things that work for you and things that don't, but it's important to pay attention and know what environment you work best in. Just because you work from home, doesn't mean you can't be productive. Share This Story I'm Stephanie - a designer of stylish paper goods at Paisley Card Co. and the blogger behind Road Called Life - a lifestyle blog and behind the scenes look into my studio. I'm a dreamer who aspires to live a creative + happy life! So far I'd say I'm doing pretty well! :) About me Welcome to my "front porch" y'all! I'm a shop owner, lettering artist, graphic designer and mentor to small business owners. This is where I like to talk about all of it - with a little personal life mixed in! ;) THE FINE PRINT I am a part of several affiliate advertising programs. This means that if you click and/or make a purchase through certain links on this site or any other related social media platform (including Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter), I may make a commission from the click and/or purchase. All opinions are my own and I never share anything I haven't already purchased and am using myself. | Mid | [
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/* Copyright (C) 2000-2012 Novell, Inc This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) version 3.0 of the License. This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA */ /*-/ File: YItem.cc Author: Stefan Hundhammer <[email protected]> /-*/ #include "YItem.h" /** * Static children collection that is always empty so the children * iterators of this base class have something valid to return. * * No item will ever be added to this collection. **/ YItemCollection YItem::_noChildren; | Low | [
0.46075085324232,
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Q: Hibernate 4.1.2.FINAL Properties hbm2ddl.import_files don't seems to work Hi I have a issue respect a hbm2ddl.import_files, it seems that don't work and not seems to appear in the log. this is my configuration: <property name="hibernateProperties"> <value> hibernate.dialect=${hibernate.dialect} hibernate.default_schema=${hibernate.default_schema} hibernate.jdbc.batch_size=${hibernate.jdbc.batch_size} hibernate.show_sql=${hibernate.show_sql} hibernate.hbm2ddl.auto=${hibernate.hbm2ddl.auto} hibernate.id.new_generator_mappings=${hibernate.id.new_generator_mappings} hibernate.hbm2ddl.import_files=${hibernate.hbm2ddl.import_files} <!-- Auto Generated Schemas and tables not good for production hibernate.hbm2ddl.auto=update--> </value> </property> the hibernate.hbm2ddl.import_files=/import.sql, and the file is: insert into DEPARTAMENTO (NOMBRE_DEPART,REFERENCIA_DEPART) values ('AMAZONAS') The jdbc.properties: #org.hibernate.dialect.PostgreSQLDialect hibernate.default_schema = "DBMERCANCIAS" hibernate.show_sql = true hibernate.id.new_generator_mappings = true hibernate.hbm2ddl.auto = create hibernate.jdbc.batch_size = 5 #Default the factory to use to instantiate transactions org.transaction.JDBCTransactionFactory hibernate.transaction.factory_class=org.transaction.JDBCTransactionFactory #Initialize values statements only on create-drop or create hibernate.hbm2ddl.import_files = /import.sql The database is postgresql 9.1.1, spring 3.1.0.RELEASE and hibernate 4.1.2.Final, the hibernate.hbm2ddl.auto is set to "create", the tables and the schema create but not run sql command insert why?, I can see in the log where this command run. A: My error was the location in hibernate properties. hibernate.hbm2ddl.import_files = /META-INF/spring/import.sql is the correct location. | High | [
0.7286624203821651,
35.75,
13.3125
] |
Q: Scheme duplicate entries in a list I'm trying to duplicate all the entries in a list using Scheme: This is the code I have: (define double (lambda (l) (cond [(null? l) '()] [(not (pair? l)) (list l l)] [else (cons (double (car l)) (double (cdr l)))]))) If my input is (double '(a((b)(c d)(((e)))))), I get back ((a a) (((b b)) ((c c) (d d)) ((((e e)))))). I want to get (a a((b b)(c c d d)(((e e))))). How would I do this? If I replace cons with append or list, it messes up even more. I can only use the commands you see up there and commands such as let (and other variations of let), map, atom, if and other logical operators. A: The second condition has to be handled a bit differently for this to work, in essence, we have to stop not when we reach an atom, but when we reach a list whose first element is an atom - in this way we can rebuild the output list as needed. Try this: (define double (lambda (l) (cond [(null? l) '()] [(not (pair? (car l))) (cons (car l) (cons (car l) (double (cdr l))))] [else (cons (double (car l)) (double (cdr l)))]))) Now it works as expected: (double '(a ((b) (c d) (((e)))))) => '(a a ((b b) (c c d d) (((e e))))) | High | [
0.658064516129032,
38.25,
19.875
] |
Gary Coffman, the Tulare Police Department Evidence Technician whose perjured testimony helped the D.A. secure a wrongful conviction in the Young brothers’ murder case, is now a convicted felon! To learn more about his crimes and the corruption in which he was involved, see below: | High | [
0.658610271903323,
27.25,
14.125
] |
Q: What's the best way to read the contents of a text file to a string in .NET? It seems like there should be something shorter than this: private string LoadFromFile(string path) { try { string fileContents; using(StreamReader rdr = File.OpenText(path)) { fileContents = rdr.ReadToEnd(); } return fileContents; } catch { throw; } } A: First of all, the title asks for "how to write the contents of strnig to a text file" but your code example is for "how to read the contents of a text file to a string. Answer to both questions: using System.IO; ... string filename = "C:/example.txt"; string content = File.ReadAllText(filename); File.WriteAllText(filename, content); See also ReadAllLines/WriteAllLines and ReadAllBytes/WriteAllBytes if instead of a string you want a string array or byte array. A: string text = File.ReadAllText("c:\file1.txt"); File.WriteAllText("c:\file2.txt", text); Also check out ReadAllLines/WriteAllLines and ReadAllBytes/WriteAllBytes A: There's no point in that exception handler. It does nothing. This is just a shorterned version of your code, it's fine: private string LoadFromFile(string path) { using(StreamReader rdr = File.OpenText(path)) return rdr.ReadToEnd(); } | Low | [
0.529545454545454,
29.125,
25.875
] |
If you’re reading this blog, there’s a good chance you’re liberal. Certainly, Slate’s reader comments show a strong leftward tilt. Many of them express sweeping contempt for Republicans. That’s understandable, because much of the GOP has gone off the deep end. When you watch the brain-dead House Republicans vote week after week to repeal Obamacare, or the latest Tea Party nut job call President Obama a traitor, it’s hard to take Republicans seriously. But keep an open mind. There are lots of sane people in the Republican Party. They’re just not the ones who shout and get all the airtime. Here’s an illustration of the difference. Let’s start with the kind of Republican you’re familiar with: former Vice President Dick Cheney. Sunday on Face the Nation, Charlie Rose interviewed him about the crisis in Ukraine. Here’s part of the exchange, in which Rose brings up Russia’s 2008 intervention in neighboring Georgia: Cheney: We have created an image around the world, not just for the Russians, of weakness and indecisiveness. The Syrian situation’s a classic. We got all ready to do something. A lot of the allies sign on. At the last minute, Obama backed off. … Rose: But, as you know, in Georgia, people will make the case that Russian troops remain, and that it was a very different situation, because we did not or were not able to respond more. So what’s the lesson of that, in your own administration? Cheney: The lesson of that, I think, it was—it came at a time, sort of at the end of the Bush administration, the beginning of the Obama administration. But it was of deep concern to our friends in Western Europe. We did take some steps in terms of providing assistance to Georgia. We have ships in the region and so forth. So there were steps taken, but they weren’t effective in terms of driving Putin out. And part of the problem in that case, there was a question about who actually provoked whom with respect to the Georgians and the Russians. That’s vintage Cheney. He starts off by blaming Russian aggression in Ukraine on Obama’s weakness. Rose points out that Russia did much the same thing in Georgia when Cheney was vice president, and that Cheney and President Bush didn’t do more about it than Obama is doing now. The implication in Rose’s remark is that if anything emboldened Russia to send troops to Ukraine, it was what Bush and Cheney did in Georgia, not what Obama did in Syria. Cheney’s response is to pretend that the Russian aggression against Georgia came at “the beginning of the Obama administration.” That’s hilarious. Read the chronology: All the action that might have been deterred by a stronger U.S. response, even theoretically, was over by the time Bush and Cheney left office. Cheney’s parting excuse—that “there was a question about who actually provoked whom” in Georgia—is valid. But that’s also true in Ukraine, where, as Slate’s Fred Kaplan points out, the parliament dissolved the courts and threw out the Russian-backed president without properly impeaching him. Cheney applies the “she asked for it” excuse to his own situation, but not to Obama’s. Contrast that performance with the comments of Bob Gates on Fox News Sunday. Gates served former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush as deputy director and then director of the CIA. He was defense secretary to George W. Bush and remained in that job, until 2011, under Obama. Yesterday, Chris Wallace prodded him to give the Obama-bashing answers Fox News viewers wanted to hear. Gates disappointed them. Wallace: You’ve defended President Obama’s handling of the situation this week. But in January you said you thought that President Obama made a big mistake when he set the red line for the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Here’s what you warned: “If you cock the pistol you’ve got to be willing to fire it.” By “cocking the pistol”—whether it’s on the red line in Syria or giving asylum to Edward Snowden—and then not firing it, you really don’t think that President Obama has emboldened Putin at all? … Gates: Putin invaded Georgia when George W. Bush was president. Nobody ever accused George W. Bush of being weak or unwilling to use military force. So I think Putin is very opportunistic in these arenas. I think that even if we had launched attacks in Syria, even if we weren’t cutting our defense budget, I think Putin saw an opportunity here in Crimea, and he has seized it. … Wallace: But just in terms of optics, do you think it’s helpful for President Obama to take the weekend off in the middle of what you call a crisis to be playing golf in Florida? Gates: Well, you know, I’ve seen this happen year after year, president after president. President takes a day or two off and plays golf. It doesn’t matter whether it’s President Obama, or the first President Bush going fishing. I think you’ve got to give these guys a little time off. You know, mostly they are working 20 hours a day. That’s what happens when there’s an adult in the room. The hypocrisy of whining about Obama’s golf game, or blaming him for Russian aggression, gets called out for what it is. Gates’ candor and fairness are worth your respect. They’re also worth emulating. Give him and other reasonable Republicans the courtesy they give Obama. And when they disagree with you, hear them out. | Mid | [
0.5470459518599561,
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] |
What Keeps Society Thriving? Let’s Ask Plato A long time ago, in a culture far, far away, a political philosopher sketched out the details of an ideal society. His name was Plato, and his portrait of this desirable and sustainable human community is his famous “Republic,” couched as a dialogue between his teacher, Socrates, and a number of his students. The “Republic” has not suffered from a lack of attention in philosophy and political science courses, in Cliff Notes, and in “philosophy for dummies” venues; I have found it coming to mind as I have watched and listened to our current efforts to manage our own “republic.” It has caused me to reflect on the relationship of leadership and education. After discussing several concepts of justice as a foundation for a healthy society, Socrates and his friends arrive at an understanding of justice as a feature of the common good. From here, their attention turns to building a society that will reflect this kind of justice. Left to its own devices, they discover, a given society will move through several stages or cycles that reflect the unguided human condition. It often begins as a monarchy or aristocracy, where an upper class, usually with inherited privilege, rules. After a time, a timocracy develops, where accumulated wealth and power, rather than inherited status, assumes a leadership role. The process then leads to an oligarchy, where control and power become concentrated in a few who have managed to gain excessive wealth and property. In this process, whatever concern among the rulers there might have been for the common good tends to erode in favor of a concern for protecting privilege. With time, unrest can develop with this imbalance; resistance can lead to rejecting this order, perhaps through revolution, and to establishing a democracy, where the direct will of the people takes control. What might seem to be a good stage of the process is seen by Plato to be one of its worst, for democracy sets the stage for inevitable chaos; the burden of that confusion leaves the society ripe for the tyranny of a dictator who promises to bring order; and the cycle begins again. The solution to this seemingly universal problem is the intentional creation of a republic, whose leaders (he calls them “guardians”) are educated to transcend the passions and appetites that lead to corruption, and who understand “the GOOD” that is more comprehensive than special advantage. Personified in the well-known image of the “philosopher king,” the ideal of leadership is a perspective that is deeply educated and able to discern the essence of complex issues. Not to be confused with the more prevalent and popular passionate embrace of an ideology, true philosophical understanding knows that truth is always beyond our limited perceptions of it and seeks with humility to move in its direction. Socrates suggests that the keys to this desirable and “just” society are clearly education and leadership, working in a partnership with each other to nurture and support the best possibilities for the common good that human community can achieve. Broad and thorough education for both populace and leaders, and a concept of leadership that places high value on the fruits of such education as a condition of service, are essential to the well-being of the republic. When education fails to be comprehensive and rigorous in its development of the mind to embrace the complexities of life rather than to be seduced by simplistic solutions, and when leadership loses its vision of the common good in favor of preserving particular advantage and holding position and power, the republic, Plato says, begins to decline. Any of this sound familiar? ColinHarris is professor of religious studies at Mercer University and a member of Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, Ga. | High | [
0.6976744186046511,
33.75,
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Q: OutOfMemoryException while working with String in Java I have such situation: I read lines from CSV-file and put them to List<String>. After finishing, lines are parsed according to special logic and their parts are put as keys into several HashMap<String, Integer>. Then list records is cleared. Actually I tried several ways: records.clear(); records = null; records = new ArrayList<String>(); But it seems that memory is not released anyway (checked it by using profiler and simple print to console). Due to such iteration with reading of file and further parsing is repeated several times, at one moment I get an OutOfMemoryError. Could anybody suggest any solution here? Is it possible with Java to solve it out? Or pool of string is not negligible for Garbage Collector? Maybe other languages like C++ are more suitable? Thank you. A: You said: After finishing, lines are parsed according to special logic and their parts are put as keys into several HashMap. If you're getting those parts via something like String.substring, that substring isn't a new copy, it's actually pointing at the original string with knowledge of the begin and indexes that comprise the substring. Consequently, the original string isn't garbage collected as long as any of those substrings exist. Clearing your collection won't help if those substrings were passed on to other parts of the system. You'd need to make sure you created a completely new string, e.g: new String( myString.substring( 1, 5 ) ); Here's a link that looks decent (Googled "String substring points at original"). http://javarevisited.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-substring-in-java-works.html Though apparently later JDK 1.7 releases have fixed this according to this: how the subString() function of string class works A: If you fill those hashmaps with substrings of the lines in your records List, you are actually storing those lines entirely for each of those substrings. Have a look at: Memory leak traps in the Java Standard API The answer in this case would be to use something like: String key = new String(record.substring(6,12)); or String key = record.substring(6,12).intern(); | Mid | [
0.593607305936073,
32.5,
22.25
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Until recently, empirical testing of the impact of development projects was extremely weak, and controversial. Most research on the impact of development projects suffered from severe methodological problems: almost none of the available empirical studies appropriately addressed problems related to self-selection bias and/or programme placement bias. Fortunately, in the last few years, we have seen several new empirical analyses using rigorous methodologies. These new analyses are often based on so-called randomized controlled trials. In a randomized controlled trial the impact of development projects is studied by randomly assigning different households to treatment and control groups. In this course we will discuss important aspects of experimental design in the context of development projects. Special attention will be given to microfinance projects. The aim is to provide a better understanding of the theory and practice of field experiments in developing countries. Students will learn how to design randomized experiments, quasi-experiments and so-called lab-in-the-field games. We will also explain how to analyse the data and interpret the findings. | High | [
0.6923076923076921,
38.25,
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Benefits of physical activity in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes: A systematic review. We performed a systematic review of clinical trials investigating the health benefits of physical activity in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes. To perform this systematic review, search strategies were created and adapted to four databases. Only randomized controlled trials written in English before 1998 and that answered to the PICOS criteria were included. The PRISMA guidelines were followed to ensure highest scientific rigor within studies. Seven studies out of 2655 were included in this systematic review according to the inclusion criteria. These studies showed positive gains on global health: blood lipid profile, physical fitness, quality of life and body size and body composition but only one demonstrated a positive effect on glycemic control. Globally, physical activity exerts a positive impact on metabolic (i.e., decrease in total cholesterol, improvement of physical fitness, etc.) and psychological health in children with type 1 diabetes. Yet variations in study protocols or sample size restrict statistical power to reach the outcome of improving glycemic control in most studies. Here, we address the measured outcomes in individual trials and discuss potential key elements to consider for future clinical trials. | High | [
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Influence of body weight and number of inseminations on fertility of progestogen-treated ewe lambs raised in controlled environments. The influence of body weight at breeding on reproductive response to one and two artificial inseminations (AI) of fresh extended semen was assessed in 195 crossbred ewe lambs selected for early breeding and compared with 159 adult ewes, all housed indoors in a controlled environment. In six trials, ewe lambs and adult ewes in progestogen-induced estrus were inseminated 55 to 57 h after sponge removal. One-half of the lambs and one-fourth of the adults received a second insemination at 60 h. Resultant reproductive performance of both groups indicated no advantage in a double insemination. Overall fertility, litter size and fecundity after one and two inseminations were 33%, 1.7 and .6 for ewe lambs and 68%, 2.4 and 1.6 for adult ewes, respectively. Embryonic mortality after the first 2 wk of pregnancy was estimated at 24% for ewe lambs and 9% for adults. The influence of body weight was analyzed by grouping the ewe lambs according to body weight at breeding. The lambs in group 1 weighed 30 to 35 kg; group 2, 36 to 40 kg; group 3, 41 to 45 kg and group 4, 46 to 50 kg. The proportion of ewes lambing in groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 was 16, 34, 39 and 48%, respectively. Corresponding litter sizes were 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0. Fecundity increased (P less than 01) from .2 in group 1 to 1.0 in group 4. The results indicate that even when ewe lambs are bred by AI (eliminating a ram behavioral problem), sheep with heavier body weights produce more lambs per ewe bred. | Mid | [
0.6528735632183901,
35.5,
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Q: Proper use of cmap and mmap I am curious about the differences between \usepackage{cmap} \usepackage[resetfonts]{cmap} \usepackage{mmap} (= \usepackage[useTeX]{mmap}) \usepackage[noTeX]{mmap} What are their precise differences? (I am not familiar with (La)TeX internals, so a beginner's explanation would be very helpful.) If this matters: I am using \usepackage[T3,T1]{fontenc} (with T3 being necessitated by the tipa-package), which is important in my case (but might not be important for a fully general answer to this question). ((Also, I am assuming that each of these commands would need to be loaded after loading package fixltx2e but before loading packages times and fontenc. Is that right?)) Update: This starter code is great. I have uncommented the tipa-lines, saved the file in UTF-8 (and modified the input encoding line to \usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}, and went through all different cmap/mmap-options. However, I see no difference in the text that is pasted from the output pdf-file (perhaps because the MWE uses virtual fonts (by default?)?). Ideally, perhaps someone could help (both of us have tried a lot) to find a minimal example that shows five different output pasting behaviors when the only difference is whether no cmap/mmap or one of the 4 cmap/mmap options is loaded. Ideally that example would also specify the encoding the file is saved in to make this work (remember to not use a BOM for UTF-8; more importantly I don't know whether all input encodings lead to identical behavior (assuming correct escaping of accented characters in input encodings that don't offer a particular character)). A: The package mmap does a little bit more than cmap, it also works for mathematical symbols in your pdf. So if your pdf does not use mathematics use \usepackage{cmap}. If you have problems with ligatures further on with computer modern use \usepackage[resetfonts]{cmap}. With mathemtic symbols use \usepackage{mmap}. If you have still problems use \usepackage[noTeX]{mmap}. The differences are: \usepackage{cmap}: accepted preloaded fonts without reloading. \usepackage[resetfonts]{cmap}: as you can read in the README of cmap this forces the reloading of preloaded fonts (Computer Modern). \usepackage[useTeX]{mmap} and \usepackage{mmap}: does everything cmap does plus correcting mathematical symbols in your pdf; uses new -m.cmap files ("uses ascii strings for the macro-names"). \usepackage[noTeX]{mmap}: does everything cmap does plus correcting mathematical symbols in your pdf; uses the cmap files (unicode). Load cmap or mmap first, then fontenc and babel. The documentation of fixltx2e does only say "load in the preamble". I had no problems loading it after fontenc, babel and the used fonts. To do your own experiments use the follwing MWE: \listfiles % shows used files \documentclass[12pt]{scrartcl} %\usepackage{cmap} % pure T1 fonts %\usepackage[resetfonts]{cmap} % pure T1 fonts, reset CM %\usepackage{mmap} % cmap + mathematics (ASCII) %\usepackage[noTeX]{mmap} % cmap + mathematics (Unicode) \usepackage[Latin9]{inputenc} % or utf-8 \usepackage[T1]{fontenc} % font encription %\usepackage[T3,T1]{fontenc} % T3 for package tipa %\usepackage{tipa} % Phonetic alphabet \usepackage[ngerman]{babel} % neue deutsche Rechtschreibung %\usepackage{lmodern} % Latin Modern %\usepackage{tgpagella} % has no virtual fonts %\usepackage[osf]{mathpazo} % Minuskelziffern okay %\usepackage{libertine} % Libertine Legacy (with virtual fonts) \usepackage[osf]{libertine} % mit Medivalziffern bzw. Minuskelziffern \newcommand*{\III}{\libertineGlyph{Threeroman}} \newcommand*{\IV}{\libertineGlyph{Fourroman}} \begin{document} Römische Zahlen: \III, \IV. \textsc{Ligaturen}: auffliegen auffinden finden Auflage Schifffahrt. \textsc{Korrekt}: auf\/fliegen auf\/finden finden Auf\/lage Schiff\/fahrt. Ziffern: 0123456789. Donau Donaudampfschiff Donaudampfschifffahrt Donaudampfschifffahrtskapitän Donaudampfschifffahrtskapitän Donaudampfschifffahrtskapitän Donaudampfschifffahrtskapitän Donaudampfschifffahrtskapitän Donaudampfschifffahrtskapitän %\textipa{[\!b] [\:r] [\;B]} \end{document} Set or delete the comment sign to test cmap and mmap with or without fontenc and different fonts. BTW: "Donaudampfschifffahrtskapitän" is a German word, good to get hyphenations. | Mid | [
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Illegal dumping in Detroit has built mounds of trash in vacant lots all over the city. In some, people have tried to clear out the rubble, creating community gardens or BMX ramps, but in others, the dumps have begun being taken over by nature. As National Geographic reports, several of the dumping grounds have begun sprouting plants and trees, some of which now stand as tall as 30 feet. The plants are often those that are dismissed by gardeners as weeds, including Queen Anne’s Lace and the often overlooked thistle. Though they aren't typical beautification choices, these plants, along with grasses and trees, are giving the vacant lots of Detroit a makeover. From National Geographic: "You can't go planting petunias here," [biologist Orin Gelderloos] says. "The soil and water aren't great. These are hardy, hardy plants." The mounds add to Detroit's unruly and lush appearance in summer, which is flamboyantly emphasized by trees growing on the roofs and inside of abandoned buildings. Camilo José Vergara, an internationally known sociologist and photographer who has chronicled the decline of Detroit and other cities, has called this transformation "a veil of vegetation creeping across the city." Cities have also been using plants to clean up vacant lots, albeit in a more purposeful way. San Francisco recently announced that they would offer property tax breaks for people who turned their vacant lots into agricultural land, and Chicago enacted a program to sell the city’s vacant lots for low prices to neighbors willing to maintain them. | Mid | [
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Afia Schwarzenegger Terms Her Failed Marriage “Dead Flower” After days of her alleged infidelity brouhaha almost dying down, Afia Schwarzenegger has reignited comments about her marriage once again. In the early hours of Tuesday September 19, she took to her ‘Queen Afia Schwar’ Facebook account and wrote: “There is no point in watering a dead flower... Marriage/Relationship is not a do or die affair...Leave 2 Live. #queenofcomedygh #onyamekala #onyamehighlyinvolved #gossip diva #Godfidence #Mmrante3Maame #Live2Leave” This is an indicator that the controversial TV presenter and self-acclaimed comedienne has gotten over the recent saga and her marriage but this would come as a big blow to her estranged husband Abrokwa who after the incident broke out admitted that “I truly love Afia, she is my wife.” | Low | [
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The South Australian Energy Minister acknowledged high take-up of wind turbines and rooftop solar cells in his state was making electricity security "a complex matter", in a letter to the Energy Market Commission in July. "Issues with managing the transition are already emerging in South Australia," the letter said. Tom Koutsantonis wrote to commission chairman, John Pierce, on July 12, just days after the shutdown of transmission lines to Victoria saw South Australia's wholesale power price spike from a year-long average of $60 a megawatt hour to $9,000. The Minister's letter proposed a series of changes to the national electricity market rules, "to manage security challenges that may emerge as Australia's electricity supply transitions to a carbon constrained future". South Australia's power woes have been in the spotlight since the entire state was blacked out last Thursday. The Australian Energy Market Operator said it was caused by the catastrophic weather conditions and the system would have shut down no matter what the energy mix. But with more than 40 per cent of South Australia's power now wind-generated, and the balance split between high-priced gas and two transmission lines to Victoria's brown coal plants, the outage has fuelled a furious debate about energy security. In an article for the Australian Financial Review, Industry Minister Greg Hunt said, "The South Australian Government's conscious policy to drive baseload energy out of the system meant the system collapsed further and faster than it would otherwise have done and recovered far more slowly than it should have". Mr Koutsantonis's letter acknowledged renewables had forced conventional generators out of a market that could not operate without them, because their "synchronous" energy was still needed to ensure power system security. 40 per cent of SA's energy comes from renewable sources Synchronous power stabilises the electricity system's frequency near a perfect balance of demand and supply: 50 hertz, or 50 cycles every second of every day. If the system spikes much higher or lower it shuts itself down. "However, maintaining these services, or procuring suitable alternative services to ensure system security, is becoming a complex matter, given the high rates of installation of wind and rooftop solar PV and the withdrawal of traditional synchronous generators," the letter said. "Issues with managing the transition are already emerging in South Australia ahead of other jurisdictions in the national electricity market as there has been a substantial shift from conventional generation to renewable energy production with over 40 per cent of the state's total generation coming from renewable sources in 2014/15." In an attachment to the letter the minister cites a February report by the Australian Energy Market Operator and Electranet — the owner of South Australia's transmission services. It warns that if the transmission lines to Victoria were cut at a time when there was little or no synchronous generation in South Australia then, "the potential consequence is a state-wide power outage with severe economic and possible health and safety impacts". The energy market operator is expected to release a report on the blackout soon, but in a statement last week said that "the root cause is likely to be the loss of the 275 kilovolt power lines during severe storm activity". It added that, "the reason why a cascading failure of the remainder of the South Australian network occurred is still to be identified". Australian energy ministers will meet on Friday, with Federal Minister Josh Frydenberg calling for jurisdictions to reconsider high state-based renewable energy targets in favour of a single national goal. Loading... | High | [
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Q: Drawing complex grid with Bootstrap I'm working with a HTML view using Bootstrap3. I need to create a template with different cells and I usually work with cols and rows, but this time I have a problem with drawing one column. This is the scheme I need: This is the code: <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-3 doubleHeight"></div> <div class="col-md-9 singleHeight"></div> <div class="col-md-3 singleHeight"></div> <div class="col-md-3 singleHeight"></div> <!--column bottom right--> <!--column bottom left--> </div> The problem begins when I try to draw the column on the bottom right. If I draw it after the two col-md-3, it doesn't allow me to show the last column on the left inline with it. If I draw it after the last column on the left, it doesn't occupy the space above. Have you got any idea of the possible solution? Thanks. A: WARNING: This post contains multiple variations of the same snippet between explanations to demonstrate the logic and provide a visual representation of how the code will actually operate. If you edit it, please keep that in mind. Before I give you the solution, I want to make something PERFECTLY clear, this is NOT supported by the Bootstrap framework. To clarify, Bootstrap supports the wrapping of the blocks which can be used to account for this, however, it does NOT manipulate the height to accommodate a block spanning multiple rows. Alright, with that said, the closet you can get to your request is via column wrapping. You can't do multiple layers of blocks because you have blocks that would belong to two different parents, and that simply isn't possible to quantify with the current CSS/HTML structure. Further, you can't do anything for the last block to appear next to the bottom-right block. Here's a little demo of the structure that gets closet to what you are asking for: div div {
border: 1px solid black;
} <script src="http://getbootstrap.com/dist/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="http://getbootstrap.com/assets/js/ie-emulation-modes-warning.js"></script>
<link href="http://getbootstrap.com/dist/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css" rel="stylesheet"/>
<link href="http://getbootstrap.com/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet"/>
<div class="row">
<div class="col-lg-3 col-md-3 col-sm-3 col-xs-3">This block spans one column and unknown rows.</div>
<div class="col-lg-9 col-md-9 col-sm-9 col-xs-9">This block spans three columns and one row.</div>
<div class="col-lg-3 col-md-3 col-sm-3 col-xs-3">This block spans one column and row.</div>
<div class="col-lg-3 col-md-3 col-sm-3 col-xs-3">This block spans one column and row.</div>
<div class="col-lg-3 col-md-3 col-sm-3 col-xs-3">This block spans one column and row.</div>
<div class="col-lg-9 col-md-9 col-sm-9 col-xs-9">This block spans three columns and one row.</div>
</div> I added a little border to give a visual idea of how it actually renders. Here's the downside to this, it is 100% dependent upon your control of the content in each block to maintain the rows. For example, if you put only enough content in the very first block to account for the height of the second block, you will get the third, fourth, and fifth blocks left flushed and push the sixth block down further. div div {
border: 1px solid black;
} <link href="http://getbootstrap.com/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet"/>
<link href="http://getbootstrap.com/dist/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css" rel="stylesheet"/>
<script src="http://getbootstrap.com/assets/js/ie-emulation-modes-warning.js"></script>
<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="http://getbootstrap.com/dist/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<div class="row">
<div class="col-lg-3 col-md-3 col-sm-3 col-xs-3">One liner</div>
<div class="col-lg-9 col-md-9 col-sm-9 col-xs-9">One liner</div>
<div class="col-lg-3 col-md-3 col-sm-3 col-xs-3">One liner</div>
<div class="col-lg-3 col-md-3 col-sm-3 col-xs-3">One liner</div>
<div class="col-lg-3 col-md-3 col-sm-3 col-xs-3">One liner<br />Two liner</div>
<div class="col-lg-9 col-md-9 col-sm-9 col-xs-9">One liner</div>
</div> I'm afraid that there is not "easy" way to mitigate this, short of defining height for each block. Further, the bottom-right block can NEVER exceed the content height of the third and fourth blocks. If it exceeds it, then you get a gap between the sixth block and those immediately above it. div div {
border: 1px solid black;
}
.col-lg-1, .col-lg-2, .col-lg-3, .col-lg-4, .col-lg-5, .col-lg-6, .col-lg-7, .col-lg-8, .col-lg-9, .col-lg-10, .col-lg-11, .col-lg-12 {
height: 50px;
}
.row-2 {
height: 100px;
} <link href="http://getbootstrap.com/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet"/>
<link href="http://getbootstrap.com/dist/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css" rel="stylesheet"/>
<script src="http://getbootstrap.com/assets/js/ie-emulation-modes-warning.js"></script>
<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="http://getbootstrap.com/dist/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<div class="row">
<div class="col-lg-3 col-md-3 col-sm-3 col-xs-3 row-2">This block spans one column and unknown rows.</div>
<div class="col-lg-9 col-md-9 col-sm-9 col-xs-9">This block spans three columns and one row.</div>
<div class="col-lg-3 col-md-3 col-sm-3 col-xs-3">This block spans one column and row.</div>
<div class="col-lg-3 col-md-3 col-sm-3 col-xs-3">This block spans one column and row.</div>
<div class="col-lg-3 col-md-3 col-sm-3 col-xs-3 row-2">This block spans one column and row.</div>
<div class="col-lg-9 col-md-9 col-sm-9 col-xs-9">This block spans three columns and one row.</div>
</div> Even though the sixth block fits into the gap, it can only follow the structure if it is after the fifth block. This forces the browser to render it below it. That's block for you. Honestly, the ONLY way to make that layout in any framework of HTML(5) and CSS(3) is to use a table. It's a HIGHLY discouraged practice for layouts, but it, truthfully, is the only option that I know of. Here's the upside, you can still use the Bootstrap col-lg-*, col-md-*, col-sm-*, and col-xs-* classes on the tds to ensure they follow the Bootstrap columns sizing. td {
border: 1px solid black;
vertical-align: top;
} <link href="http://getbootstrap.com/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet"/>
<link href="http://getbootstrap.com/dist/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css" rel="stylesheet"/>
<script src="http://getbootstrap.com/assets/js/ie-emulation-modes-warning.js"></script>
<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="http://getbootstrap.com/dist/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<table>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">This block spans one column and two rows.</td>
<td colspan="3">This block spans three columns and one row.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>This block spans one column and row.</td>
<td>This block spans one column and row.</td>
<td rowspan="2">This block spans one column and two rows.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3">This block spans three columns and one row.</td>
</tr>
</table> I'm sorry, I know it's not quite what you were looking for, but, at least as far as my knowledge is concerned, it simply isn't possible to do that a wraparound layout without a table. | Low | [
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Donald Trump lied about the $1million discount he received for a 10-carat Graff Diamonds engagement ring bought for Melania in 2005, reports state. Graff Diamonds’ chairman, Laurence Graff, claims Trump’s admission to the New York Times was a lie.Graff asserted – in an email sent from his home in Gstaad, Switzerland, on January 26 – that while it was ‘a pleasure to do business with’ Trump, he was given ‘no favours’ when he bought the D-flawless cut 10-carat diamond. The London-based company was said to have received increased publicity as a result of the discount Trump received, the Times reported. ‘Only a fool would say, “No thank you, I want to pay a million dollars more for a diamond,”’ proudly boasted Trump in the 2005 interview.’We don’t sell items for publicity value,’ explained Graff CFO Nicholas Paine to Forbes. While Graff and Paine refused to disclose a price to Forbes, the Times had reported that the ring was retailed for $1.5million.’He paid for [the ring] in full, and he paid immediately,’ said a third source, with direct knowledge of the transaction, to Forbes. They further asserted that Trump did indeed lie about the deal.Trump purchased – in full – a second Graff diamond for Melania in celebration of their 10 year anniversary in 2015. Melania famously posed with the large 25-carat ring for her official White House photos. It is reported to be worth $3million. | Mid | [
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Abuse of Bharat’s visa system by foreign religious missionaries is a known issue. It came to public light recently in a big way after over 1000 foreign Tablighi Jamaat preachers, who had violated their tourist visa conditions, got exposed as super-spreaders of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the biggest abuse of the tourist visa has been done by Christian missionaries. And now an expose by missionkaali.org shows that these missionaries very likely have been getting a helping hand from top levels of Bharat’s bureaucracy & diplomats, especially when ‘secular’ parties are in power. Ronen Sen is a very well known veteran diplomat and was Bharat’s Ambassador to the US from May 2004-2009 during UPA-1. He has also served as Ambassador to the UK, Germany, Russia, and Mexico. He is often commended for his efforts to seal the US-India nuclear deal. Mormon Church or the Church of the Latter-Day-Saints (LDS) headquartered in Utah is said to be a non-trinitarian, Christian restorantist Church founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 who wrote the new religion’s holy book ‘The Book of Mormon’. Smith was a colorful character, to say the least, and ‘The Book of Mormon’ states that God cursed people of colour. Although Mormon Church has now abolished polygamy, it is still practised by some fundamentalist Mormons. With 6 million members in US and 14 million worldwide, it is considered one of the fastest-growing religions. As per 2018 figures, there are said to be almost 14,000 Mormons in Bharat. Every young Mormon man is expected to serve a two-year mission overseas – currently, there are more than 50,000 Mormon missionaries serving the church across the globe. Mormons value entrepreneurialism and are very well represented in US business and politics. It’s a very-very rich Church – with assets worth more than $30 billion, and getting $5 billion in donation from the faithful every year. As with all Christian sects, Bharat is the prime target for proselytisation and soul harvesting, even within the ‘10/40 window‘ (rectangular area encompassing South Asia, Middle East, China etc approximately between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude identified by missionary strategists as the region where majority of the world’s non-Christians, i.e Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims etc reside). Bharat’s “tolerance” for the missionary mafia is legendary, and it offers easy pickings compared to the far more dangerous path evangelicals have to tread in Muslim countries or communist/single-party dictatorships. In 2016, a series of videos titled ‘Mormon Leaks’ were released by an activist group which promotes transparency within religious institutions. The leaked videos show internal documents and videos of the LDS Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. In one of these leaked videos, originally recorded on 8th February, 2009, the former US Senator Gordon Smith (he was in office from January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2009) addressed a closed-door meeting of senior Mormon church members on the topic ‘Washington Public Affairs’. In the talk, Gordon Smith, also a Bishop of the Mormon Church, talks on various political topics and how he acted as an advocate of the Mormon Church while being a US Senator. He talks about how devout Mormons in US Senate and other Government office offer the Mormon Church access and influence. Towards the end of the talk, a Mormon Church leader says, “I hope that the miracle of these brethren being in Washington will be repeated, and worthy brothers & sisters rise to elective office around the world to carry the burden. There is a political and economic component which is vital in how the Church operates; some of the critical gating decisions that are made as the Church enters other countries, things happen in Government due to intervention that has taken place.” At this point, Smith interrupts him to give an example to the audience of such ‘intervention’. VISA Fraud: How IFS officers bring foreign missionaries into India. pic.twitter.com/q94ATuslEq — Mission Kaali – Say No To Conversion (@missionkaali) April 8, 2020 Senator Gordon Smith says – “I called for an appointment with India’s Ambassador to USA, Ronen Sen…they come immediately to a Senator’s office. Ambassador Sen is a quiet and meek man, a nice person. I began the meeting by talking about the growing US-India relationship while sharing values like freedom of conscience, religious free exercise, truly important to the future between our nations. I told Ambassador Sen, the (Mormon) Church was not being treated fairly in India. Ambassador Sen agreed and said, ‘I know, I have met with (Church) president Hinkley and I promised him I would do something.’ And he (Sen) said, ‘Just send your Indian converts to India.’ I said I don’t know how many (Indian converts) we have, but surely we can do better than that. The meeting broke up with, I think, Ambassador Sen feeling guilty he had not delivered on his promise to (Mormon) President Hinkley. Next day, Ambassador Sen called me and said he hadn’t been able to sleep all night, and he had an idea. ‘You send to me the visas you need for your missionaries, and I will issue them over my signature, and we will establish a pattern of dealing that will get around the Indian bureaucracy.’ He asked me ‘how many you need, Senator?’ I said we need 200. He said, ‘Ok, send me 200.'” Smith then adds he called another Church member and asked him to go to the Ambassador’s home and ‘codify’ this the best we can. He ends by saying we have 2 missions in India now, and it started from this meeting (with Ambassdor sen). He suggests the audience use other Mormon senators — Mike Crapo of Idaho, Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett of Utah, and Harry Reid of Nevada — in similar ways. It is not immediately known what happened after this incident. But if Ronen Sen has acted in the manner pointed out in the leaked videos, then there is a case for Immigration fraud, as an Indian tourist visa cannot be used for religious activities by missionaries. Even missionary visa is issued for Missionary work not involving proselytization, and it cannot be used by preachers and evangelists who desire to come to India on propaganda campaigns. An equal rights group in the United States have called for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate the Mormon Church for the allegation that they sought “favors” from the Bharatiya government through the then-senator Smith. In November 2019, a whistleblower filed a complaint with US’ Internal Revenue Service (IRS) alleging Mormon Church used members contributions to amass more than $100 billion in tax-exempt investment funds and misled its members about uses of the money. The case is ongoing. In the talk, Smith also reveals how he voted for the Iraq war despite being a critic – the Iraq war was launched by American neo-cons under false pretext of Saddam Hussein harboring weapons of mass destruction – because he felt the “Lord’s hand” in it. He believes the war helped create ‘rule of law’ which is essential for missionaries to operate in Arabia. “Our missionaries always follow in the footsteps of American soldiers,” he recounts an American army man telling him. “The Lord governs in the affairs of nations, even if the nations don’t know it,” he says. Hindus of Bharat sure are not aware that the ‘Lord’ has been governing them whenever Congress has ruled at the centre. References 1. apnews.com 2. https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=5091342&itype=CMSID 3. https://religionunplugged.com/news/2019/12/16/whistleblower-exposes-100-billion-stockpile-by-mormon-church You can also sign a petition to Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India, to revoke the Padma award of Ronen Sen over the alleged visa fraud. Did you like this article? We’re a non-profit. Make a donation and help pay for our journalism. HinduPost is now on Telegram. For the best reports & opinion on issues concerning Hindu society, subscribe to HinduPost on Telegram. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram Reddit Print | Mid | [
0.6298076923076921,
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MASON ELLIOTT KITCHEN & BATH DESIGNS Asheville Chattanooga Toll Free Make Your Kitchen More Inviting In his own words: “They say there’s nothing new under the sun. You should see how people’s eyes light up when they get a new kitchen that’s designed just for them. It’s beyond what they had imagined.” Your kitchen is a hub of activity. At any given time, various family members might be dicing, deep-frying and dish washing. Maybe someone is just dishing gossip. Does this all happen without any traffic jams, or are you constantly elbowing one another? Kitchen designer Mason Elliott, who owns Mason Elliott Designs in Asheville, believes a productive kitchen starts with the design. “It should invite everyone in and give them the space to stay,” he says. Visit Mason on houzz for more amazing kitchen ideas. | Mid | [
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Memory center takes visitors through 4 decades of Afghan war PHOTOS BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESSHameed Rafi, brother of the late Rahila, shows his sister's watch, during an interview with the Associated Press at the Rahila library in Kabul, Afghanistan. Rafi says he'll never forget the day he joined a panel of civilian war victims and family members and spoke about the suicide bombing in Kabul that killed his sister last August. Belongings of war victims are displayed in the Afghanistan Center for Memory and Dialogue. An Afghan woman looks at belongings of war victims displayed in the Afghanistan Center for Memory and Dialogue in Kabul, Afghanistan. Launched in February by the Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization, the center seeks to salvage, protect and share memories and stories of civilian victims of the country's four decades of war. Posted Sunday, May 5, 2019 6:00 am By RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan - A teary-eyed Hameed Rafi said he'll never forget the day he joined a panel of civilian war victims and family members and spoke about the suicide bombing in Kabul that killed his sister last August. Sharing his story with them in March at the Afghanistan Center for Memory and Dialogue, Rafi recalled how all of the wounded in the attack had been taken to hospitals, so he began searching lists of wounded hanging on hospital walls. But he couldn't find the name of his sister, 18-year-old Rahila, who had been studying in an education center for her college entrance exam when the attack happened. Then, a doctor suggested Rafi also search lists of those killed. "That shocked me, I had never considered that my sister wouldn't be alive anymore," he said. But as he learned later, Rahila had perished, he told those who attended the panel discussion. Rafi's chance to share his story is at the heart of the memory center's mission. Launched in February by the Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization, it seeks to salvage, protect and share memories and stories of civilian victims of the country's four decades of war. The center, located in a small basement of a rental house in west Kabul, contains exhibits reminding visitors of the years of carnage and loss, including drawings, garments, photos and toys with accompanying personal information such as names, places and causes of death or injury. But the center is also a safe space for family and friends of civilian victims like Rafi to share their stories and preserve the memories of their loved ones. Each family has its own story, but when they listen to the narratives of others they realize they're not alone in their pain. Afghanistan has experienced some 40 years of continuous wars, and the center has divided them into periods, starting with the former communist regime from 1978-1992, which led to the 1979 invasion by the former Soviet Union to support the government and Afghanistan's subsequent spiral into war. That period was followed by the civil war in the Islamic State of Afghanistan, from 1992-'96. During these years, many of the warlords, who were later returned to power by the international community in 2001, waged a brutal war against each other for power, killing 50,000 people in Kabul alone. The Taliban regime, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, ruled the country from 1996-'01. The years 2002-present represent the current period that followed the collapse of Taliban rule. More than 2 million civilians are estimated to have been killed in the fighting in Afghanistan between 1978 and 2001, with thousands more killed and wounded in the past 17 years, since the U.S.-led NATO intervention. The center grew out of the concept of the "memory box," in which survivors or family members would bring favorite items of victims and put them in boxes of different sizes and materials, many of them ornately decorated. As they met other victims' family and friends, they began to exchange stories. Later, the center asked survivors to write letters to their lost loved ones and to the larger Afghan community to let them know about their pain. This took place over about eight years, during which hundreds of memory boxes were constructed with more than 4,000 personal objects and stories. Strolling through the memory center, visitors see in one exhibit a Barbie doll and accompanying make-up table that belonged to a young girl named Saima, who was killed in a suicide car bomb attack near the former parliament building in April 2015. In another exhibit, a wristwatch still shows the time for visitors, but not its owner, who is unidentified. The watch belonged to the victim of a suicide bombing attack in Kabul that killed and wounded dozens. Center organizers were unsure of the date of the attack. In yet another exhibit, a small piece of paper has a handwritten note from a prisoner to his family, who has not seen or heard from him in decades. Family and friends still hope he will return home one day. "Unfortunately, in Afghanistan there was not a policy of remembrance for thousands of war victims that we have in this country," said Hadi Marifat, the human rights organization's director. The memory center is "a tribute to the war victims, and it is for them (and survivors) to come here and share their stories and to, of course, at the same time get acknowledgement, which is very, very important in a context like Afghanistan," Marifat said. Rafi, whose sister was one of 50 students killed in the Islamic State group's suicide attack on the Mawood Educational Center in western Kabul, understands the need to pay tribute to the lost. Upon returning home a day after Rahila's burial, he went through her diary and discovered her love for books and education. In a short note, she writes that education is the only way out of the crisis in Afghanistan. The note inspired Rafi to establish a library on Oct. 25 in Dasht-e Barchi neighborhood in west Kabul, not far from where Rahila lost her life, to encourage a culture of reading and studying among youths. The Rahila Library has more than 7,000 books with a separate reading space for visitors. So far, more than 4,000 people have visited the library since it opened. "We lost Rahila, but we hope Rahila's name and kindness will be remembered by people through this library," he said. Get the best of The Sumter Item in your inbox. Sign up for our free daily newsletter. WOODROW JOHNSON Woodrow Johnson, 86, husband of Hattie Brunson Johnson, departed this life on Thursday, May 23, 2019, at NHC Healthcare. He was born on March 18, 1933, in Clarendon County, a son of the late Purdy … WILLIE LEE MCCOY Willie Lee McCoy, 69, departed this life on Tuesday, May 21, 2019, at Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital.He was born on Nov. 10, 1949, in Sumter County, a son of the late Jessie Mae McCoy. The family will … HENRY MACK SINGLETARY Henry Mack Singletary, 58, departed this earthly life on Saturday, May 18, 2019, at Prisma Health Richland Hospital, Columbia. Born on June 11, 1960, in Lee County, he was a son of Mary Fortune Singletary and the late Henry George Singletary. His … | Mid | [
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Junior College Technology Horn posted the WBO's decision on his Facebook page with the message "Just FYI guys", tagging actor Samuel L. Jackson, retired basketball star Kobe Bryant, ESPN personality Stephen A. "Then, the independent results were tabulated to ascertain clearly the rounds each fighter won using an average scale based on 60, 80 and 100 per cent". Like Maroons halfback Cooper Cronk, Slater - a veteran of 28 games for Queensland - has not decided whether he will play on in 2018. Round 19 of the NRL will kick off on Friday when the Panthers meet the Warriors at 8pm. "It's probably a blessing in disguise for us when we did what we did previous year", Munster said. "He's all right. I saw him this morning and he was walking around", Smith said on Monday. President Trump said the two leaders had discussed the formation of a bilateral cyber security unit so that "election hacking, & many other negative things, will be guarded and safe". Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin then went on ABC's "This Week" and touted the cyber security alliance with Putin as a "significant accomplishment for President Trump ". Disarmament campaigners say the treaty will go a long way in increasing the stigma associated with nuclear weapons and will have an impact on public opinion. After its adoption, the treaty will be open for signatures as of September 20 and will enter into force when 50 countries have ratified it. A total of 191 States have joined the Treaty, including the five nuclear-weapon States that are the permanent members of the UN Security Council - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the ... Players have also been banned in the past for gambling on Steam . Already on 7 July, the ban received a total of 954 user on Steam, and today - and at 788. A third party tool is responsible with recording the number of bans issued every day on Steam. There are illegal gambling types of operations that happen with some games, while other games just end up picking up players who try to cheat the system in other ways. Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman Arnold Laanui said more information will be made known once when a criminal complaint has been filed. Kang's defense says his client appears to possibly suffer from metal health issues related to his military service, and that the government was aware of these problems but failed to treat him, the Washington Post reports . The first WWE game on a Nintendo platform in over five years, 2K18 will bring a lot of the new features already announced for its other editions, including eight-man matches, weight detection, and more. WWE superstars consider it a huge honor to be selected as the cover artist for the WWE video games. But there is a massive difference in the level of power between the Nintendo Switch and, say, the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox One. Conway , whose formal title is counselor to the president, sparred with CNN host Chris Cuomo and ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos on Monday when pressed about the latest development connecting President Donald Trump's campaign to the Kremlin. To enable these filters, a user must access the "Advanced filters" option from the "Settings" on the "Notification" timeline. Several of these filters were rolled out to the Android and web versions of Twitter early in 2017, but now they're available to everyone and with a few more options. What kind of shortage qualifies for a declaration of emergency in the great state of Nevada? With 47 retail marijuana stores available, that's about $3 million worth of sales within the first four days of business. Several establishments told state officials they expect to run out in the coming days. But no alcohol wholesalers have completed the licensing process. | Low | [
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# -*- coding: utf-8 -*- from ._version import version_info, __version__ from .commands import get_include, get_cmake_dir __all__ = ( "version_info", "__version__", "get_include", "get_cmake_dir", ) | Low | [
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Q: how to make contents in my app universal? I have made an app that fits all my contents perfectly on Iphone 6, but when I run it on any other device, the positions are shifted. How do I fix this using UIKit on Xcode A: make the size and position relevant to the screen size for example: Image.position = CGPoint(x: (scene?.size.width)! * 0.1, y: (scene?.size.height)! * 0.2) Image.size = CGSize(x: (scene?.size.width)! * 0.6, y: (scene?.size.height)! * 0.6) i use scene as a reference majority of the time but frame size works as well by replacing the (scene.size.height)! portion with (self.frame.size.width) or (self.frame.size.height) | Mid | [
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"From ear to trunk"-magnetic resonance imaging reveals referral of pain. Referred and projecting pain can be observed in acute and chronic pain states. We present the case of a 69-year-old female patient with postherpetic neuralgia in dermatome Th2/3 who reported that touching the ipsilateral earlap (dermatome C2) would enhance pain and dynamic mechanical allodynia in the affected Th2/3-dermatome. The aim was to investigate possible underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon using the capsaicin experimental pain sensitization model, quantitative sensory testing, and functional spinal and supraspinal magnetic resonance imaging. The presented study provides evidence that a referral of pain from the ear to the trunk is possible. We discuss whether the observed phenomenon in combination with activation of pain-modulating areas on functional magnetic resonance imaging suggests either (1) a shift of descending pathways from inhibitory towards facilitating mode or (2) a deafferentation-induced reorganization of somatotopic maps, as the ear and the trunk are adjacent areas of the sensory homunculus. The results and a review about projection of pain in head-neck area are provided. | High | [
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The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Lobelia plant, botanically known as Lobelia erinus L., and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Wesloweixe2x80x99. The new Lobelia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Sudlohn-Oeding, Germany. The new Lobelia originated from a cross made by the Inventor of the Lobelia cultivar xe2x80x98Wesstarxe2x80x99, disclosed in U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/324,081, as the female, or seed, parent with an unnamed white Lobelia selection, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Lobelia was selected by the Inventor in 1997 on the basis of its pure white flowers. Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken at Sudlohn-Oeding, Germany, has shown that the unique features of this new Lobelia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations. Plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Wesloweixe2x80x99 have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, daylength, and fertility level without, however, any variance in genotype. The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Wesloweixe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Wesloweixe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar: 1. Cascading and rounded plant habit. 2. Short internodes, dense and bushy plant form. 3. Vigorous growth habit. 4. Dark green leaves. 5. Pure white-colored flowers. Compared to plants of the female parent, the cultivar xe2x80x98Wesstarxe2x80x99, plants of the new Lobelia have broader petals, longer peduncles and smaller sepals. In addition, plants of the new Lobelia and the cultivar xe2x80x98Wesstarxe2x80x99 differ in flower color. Compared to plants of the male parent, the unnamed white Lobelia selection, plants of the new Lobelia are more pendulous in plant habit and have shorter internodes, darker green leaves and larger flowers. Plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Wesloweixe2x80x99 are most similar plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Azuroxe2x80x99, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,758. However in side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Sudlohn-Oeding, Germany, plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Wesloweixe2x80x99 and the cultivar xe2x80x98Azuroxe2x80x99 differ in the following characteristics: 1. Plants of the new Lobelia have stronger lateral branches than plants of the cultivars xe2x80x98Azuroxe2x80x99. 2. Plants of the new Lobelia have shorter internodes than plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Azuroxe2x80x99. 3. Plants of the new Lobelia have larger leaves than plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Azuroxe2x80x99. 4. Plants of the new Lobelia have smaller sepals than plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Azuroxe2x80x99. 5. Plants of the new Lobelia have white-colored flowers whereas plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Azuroxe2x80x99 have blue-colored flowers. | Mid | [
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There is a dangerous intersection at Furrows Road and Patchogue-Holbrook Road in Holbrook. Furrows was widened on the east side last year to make room for right- and left-turn lanes. The problem is that no left-turn arrow was added, so there is no safe way to turn south onto Patchogue-Holbrook Road. Each day there are numerous near accidents. -- William Toran, Holbrook Suffolk County has studied the intersection three times, most recently in 2011, and determined that it has yet to meet the "necessary standards" for a left-turn signal. The county's Department of Public Works collected data for the intersection and compared it to benchmarks proposed in the Institute of Transporation Engineers' Manual of Traffic Signal Design, which county spokeswoman Vanessa Baird-Streeter said the county relies on. Those standards are based on four criteria, she said: The "cross product of left-turning vehicles versus opposing through vehicles" The number of left turns per signal cycle Delays to left-turning vehicles Crash history involving left-turning vehicles On a two-lane street such as Furrows Road, the number in that first category -- left-turning vehicles multiplied by opposing through traffic during the peak hour -- would need to exceed 50,000, Institute official Doug Noble told Watchdog. As for the other categories: The left-turn volume would need to exceed two vehicles per light cycle during the peak hour, the average delay for left-turning vehicles must be at least 35 seconds and the number of left-turn crashes for one approach must reach either four in one year, six in two years or 10 in two years for both approaches. Baird-Streeter would not provide data for those categories from the 2011 study, saying only: "Based on that criteria, this intersection does not warrant the introduction of either eastbound and westbound left-turn phases at this time." At our request, Suffolk County Police Department research analysts searched the Fifth Precinct's files. The results: 53 accidents occurred at, or near, the intersection in the past four years: 15 in 2009, 15 in 2010, six in 2011, and 17 in 2012. But since those numbers don't reveal details, such as how many accidents involved drivers making left turns onto Patchogue-Holbrook Road, Newsday has filed a Freedom of Information request for copies of all accident reports at the intersection for those four years. The Police Department said the request could take a few months to complete. Suffolk residents with concerns about left-turns on county roads can call 631-852-4010. -- MICHAEL R. EBERT "The storm drain has collapsed in front of my home," Teresa McGlenn reports. "We have reported this to the town at least three times. The school bus stop is right here. I have to tell you, we believe this is a dangerous situation." First, the good news: The storm drain -- on Brook Street in Oakdale -- was replaced last week. An Islip Town Public Works crew arrived Tuesday morning to extract the worn-out drain and install a new one. Several weeks earlier, the town had responded to the collapse by filling the hole with sand and marking it off with saw horses. But the sand began to settle. "It's sinking right before my eyes," McGlenn said. She had told the town about the worsening condition but couldn't get a forecast for permanent repairs. What with the blizzard in early February and high winds ever since, the saw horses didn't stay put, leaving the sinking roadway exposed. McGlenn and her husband, Richard, feared for drivers rounding the nearby corner and joggers running in the dark. So we contacted the town and, two days later, received an email from Commissioner of Public Works Thomas Owens. Shortly after the hole was filled with sand, he wrote, "we requested a utility mark-out" to show the location of underground structures such as water mains. A mark-out is required before the town has clearance to dig. But getting one "in a timely fashion" has been difficult because they're in demand in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, he said. Because of children in the neighborhood and the nearby bus stop, "my staff spent the last two days communicating with the utility companies and were able to secure clearance to dig in this area," he wrote. On Tuesday morning a department crew arrived with a payloader and removed the old drain -- they estimated it dated to the 1960s -- and installed one that can handle 2,550 gallons, more than twice the capacity of the original. The excavated area needs to settle for 10 to 14 days before work can be completed, he said. | Mid | [
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(1) Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to jet-powered watercraft, and more particularly to an auxiliary rudder for the watercraft, which deploys at high speeds when the throttle is shut. (2) Description of the Prior Art It is known that the lack of off-throttle steering in jet-powered watercraft, particularly in the one and two person craft typically referred to as Personal Watercraft (PWC). Steering for PWC""s is normally provided by aiming the thruster jet nozzle. An experienced driver of such a craft will maintain throttle and steer the craft to avoid a collision. However, in the panic of a high-speed collision avoidance situation, inexperienced drivers have a tendency to let go of the throttle. With the throttle at idle, there is no steerage and the craft proceeds straight, possibly leading to the collision sought to be avoided by letting go of the throttle. A number of jet-powered watercraft rudder systems for steering at low speeds are available in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,494 to Posti describes an auxiliary rudder coupled to a hydraulic cylinder. The cylinder maintains the rudder within the flow stream of the thruster jet at low speed. At high speed, water pressure from the pump chamber of the thruster operates the cylinder to raise the rudder. In a panic situation as described above, the reaction time of the cylinder to the decreased pressure in the pump chamber would be too long to provide the almost instantaneous rudder deployment required. U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,553 to Wildhaber, Sr. describes a flat plate rudder pivotally attached to an outboard jet motor, so as to be within the flow of the thruster jet. At slow speeds, the rudder provides steering for the craft. As speed increases, the water force pivots the rudder out of the flow, such that steering is controlled by directing the thruster jet. In a high-speed panic situation, with the throttle cut off, the flow of the thruster jet is stopped. However, the water flow over the rudder from the speed of the craft would maintain the rudder in the raised position. U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,026 to Eastling provides a steering plate, which is located below the thruster jet flow and is attached to the thruster so as to maintain the same orientation as the flow. The plate is continuously deployed to provide auxiliary steering at all speeds. However, being deployed below the flow subjects the plate to damage from rocks and other obstacles. A spring-loaded mechanism allows the plate to deflect upwards when an obstacle is encountered, so as to mitigate, but not eliminate, damage. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a rudder for high speed steering of a jet-powered watercraft. Another object of the present invention is to provide a rudder for high speed steering of a jet-powered watercraft, which self-deploys when the watercraft throttle is shut off. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a rudder for high speed steering of a jet-powered watercraft, which does not protrude below the jet flow during normal operation of the watercraft. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious hereinafter in the specification and drawings. In accordance with the present invention, a rudder assembley is pivotally attached to the nozzle of a jet-powered watercraft, so as to turn when the nozzle is turned. At rest, a baffle plate of the assembly partially covers the nozzle and is held in place by a spring at the pivotal attachment point. One or more flat plate rudders are attached perpendicularly to and extend away and down from the baffle plate, parallel with the jet flow from the nozzle. Once the jet begins operating, the force of the water jet against the baffle plate overcomes the spring force and the rudder assembly begins to pivot up and away from the nozzle. At slow running speeds, the force from the jet does not completely overcome the spring force, thus allowing the rudders to be partially within the jet flow and thus contribute to slow speed maneuverability of the watercraft. At high speeds, i.e., at high jet velocities, the jet forces the rudders nearly out of the jet flow and steering is provided by the nozzle direction. The rudders are pivoted up and away from the nozzle so as to prevent damage from underwater obstacles. In an imminent collision situation at high speeds, the panic reaction is to shut off the throttle, which abruptly ends the jet flow from the nozzle. The spring forces the baffle plate back over the nozzle and the rudders are again positioned parallel with the nozzle to provide steering without any flow from the nozzle. Thus the rudder assembly provides a self-deploying, high speed steering capability when the throttle is shut down. | Mid | [
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The President and CEO of the “Central Bank of Parrsboro” met with Town Council on Tuesday to talk about putting more money into the hands of people over age 70 and those receiving social assistance. “There are a lot of people in the town who are short of money,” retired doctor David Howe told councillors. “There’s a lot of seniors who struggle by in their homes when they would be much more comfortable with more home care.” Howe explained that he and Lions Club official Frank Hartman have launched the Parrsboro Alternate Currency so that the elderly and the poor will have another way to buy services such as help with house cleaning, gardening or even cooking a meal. They asked the mayor and councillors to help publicize and distribute the new currency that is printed on business-sized cards. Howe explained that the cards themselves have no monetary value, but could be given to participating businesses or individuals in exchange for goods and services. “It’s like a kind of extended barter system,” he said. “We are introducing this currency as an alternative to real money.” Howe added that those who are paid with the currency could, in turn, use it to buy goods or services for themselves instead of spending their scarce dollars, thereby freeing up real money for other things. “It will only work of course if people use it,” he said. “It’s an experiment, we’ll have to see how it goes.” As Howe addressed council, it became apparent that he sees the new currency as a way of taking some of the profit-making power away from big banks. “The financial system, you and I and poor people in Parrsboro, pay interest and the people that get it are financiers in Bay St or Wall St.,” he said. “The financial system sucks money out from the poor to the rich.” Anyone interested in learning more about the Parrsboro Alternate Currency can talk with Howe or Hartman at 10 a.m. every Monday at the Town Hall or attend a meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 10 at the Parrsboro Lions Den. | High | [
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a 100% OVF shows you EXACTLY what the sensor sees (framing). Correct exposure (that should know just by looking around you) will get you the result you want, in other words the results you already knew you'd get. RAW is for latitude, no correct exposure can capture 20+ stops of DR in a JPG. It's not just about fixing mistakes. Nothing's uglier than an overexposed window, unless you want to depict a heavenly domicile where pure white lite flows in through the window. I am left wondering if you have even tried a WYSIWYG camera, also known as mirrorless. I am sure that people get them so that they can avoid RAW. That is the reason why Olympus provides so many ways to pre-process in camera. Live Time which allows to *visualise* in real time a long exposure building up, is only the latest device. Tone and colour management, WB correction, etc where all things that were not available when Photoshop and RAW started their run. Perhaps a bit of updating? PS Journalists and pros in a hurry often try to *avoid* RAW. Is it so difficult to understand why? Am. you can bet your socks on me doing all JPG all the time. However, that's not what I'm doing, so I use RAW almost always. If I quickly need a picture, then I'll use JPG. I'm not sure what you wanted to say. Just that. That I was doing PJ and I was using slides, like most PJ. The modern equivalent of Jpegs. Now that I do Street Shooting as a hobby I apply the same principles of HCB: never spray and pray, take just one shot, for good or evil, and never rework it. 'There are no maybes': Every image is a pass or fail. The 'cooking' in the digital darkroom is for commercial hacks. Another philosophy, the decisive instant. Am. Hey, let's go a little lighter on the name calling Tactfully done post can improve any image when not taken to extremes. It's not meant to fix photos you shouldn't have taken/kept in the first place, just improve a little on the ones that were worth keeping. Well, the modern version is that you can fix everything pertaining to the field an light conditions very easily in a mirrorless EVF, since you control the sensor. But you can't really fix or fake the decisive instant, it's not painting, one must take a risk. That is why commercial p/phy, Marriage one, is a boring beautifying and not reality. Ask yourself why Photoshop has made a mess, and contests have to react to it. I am not avoiding Photoshop, i have learned it, and when mirrorless allowed good IQ from the start, I dropped it. Latest in-depth reviews Panasonic's premium compact DC-ZS200 (TZ200 outside of North America) boasts a 24-360mm equiv. F3.3-6.4 zoom lens, making it the longest reaching 1"-type pocket camera on the market. There are tradeoffs that come with that big lens, however. Find out all the details in our in-depth review. The Hex Raven DSLR bag holds a ton of gear and employs a low-profile design that doesn't scream "I'm a camera bag." We think it's a little too bulky for everyday use, but makes for a great option when traveling with a lot of gear. The Sony a7 III sets a new benchmark for full-frame cameras thanks to its compelling combination of value and capability. It's at home shooting everything from sports to portraits, and is one of the most impressive all-around cameras we've seen in a long while. Find out all the details in our full review. Latest buying guides What's the best camera for a parent? The best cameras for shooting kids and family must have fast autofocus, good low-light image quality and great video. In this buying guide we've rounded-up several great cameras for parents, and recommended the best. What's the best camera for shooting landscapes? High resolution, weather-sealed bodies and wide dynamic range are all important. In this buying guide we've rounded-up several great cameras for shooting landscapes, and recommended the best. What’s the best camera costing over $2000? The best high-end camera costing more than $2000 should have plenty of resolution, exceptional build quality, good 4K video capture and top-notch autofocus for advanced and professional users. In this buying guide we’ve rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing over $2000 and recommended the best. What's the best camera for taking pictures of people and events? Reliable autofocus, good image quality in low light, and great colors straight from the camera are all important. In this buying guide we've rounded-up several great cameras for shooting people and events, and recommended the best. | Mid | [
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At the Republican National Convention last week in Cleveland, none of the speakers used the phrase “white people.” Anti-racists, however, need to make EVERYTHING about race, so they made it about white people anyway. Appearing on a panel helmed by MSNBC’s lesbian-faced Chris Hayes, an old white man named Charles Pierce of Esquire magazine racially taunted fellow old white man Steve King, a Republican congressman from Iowa: If you’re really optimistic, you can say that this is the last time that old white people will command the Republican Party’s attention, its platform, its public face. That hall is wired by loud, unhappy, dissatisfied white people. King tossed the bomb back in Pierce’s lap: This “old white people” business does get a little tired, Charlie. I’d ask you to go back through history and figure out, where are these contributions that have been made by these other categories of people that you’re talking about, where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization? A fat black female panelist began hootin’ and hollerin’ and acting as if she caught the vapors, whereupon Hayes scolded King that white people were responsible for Hitler and Stalin. “If you were to note every manmade item within your field of vision, chances are that nearly every last gadget and trinket was invented by a white man.” MSNBC would later describe King’s comments as “jaw-dropping.” The Washington Post called his comments “weird.” The website Quartz referred to his utterly rational and dispassionate question as “an awkward, racist rant.” And Esquire deemed his question to be “batshit” crazy. I suppose that when you don’t want to answer a question, it’s best to gaslight the person who asked it. Asked later about his now-infamous question, a remorse-free King noted that none of the apopleptic co-panelists had bothered to answer it: You go back and Google “old white people,” “old white men,” [and] you”ll find that that comes out of the mouth of leftists constantly. They have decided it’s open season on white people in America from an ideological standpoint. And I hope it stops there, but somebody needs to stand up for the contributions that have been made by Western Civilization. And if we disparage our roots, if we disparage what makes this a great nation, then we”ll lose the formula for being an even greater nation. So I stood up for our foundation, for our history, for our culture, of Western Civilization, and I said so. And if you”ll notice, Chris Hayes didn”t want to go down that path after that. Of course, this didn’t stop others from attempting to go down that path. The oniony-looking Rebecca Onion of Slate asserted that it made “no sense” to judge groups by their historical inventions, despite the fact that a given racial group’s level of technological innovation is tightly correlated with its relative success and prosperity. Writing for Salon, a certain Sarah Watts didn’t appear to be joking when she credited Africans for inventing “humanity.” (I suppose other inventions were hard to come by.) She also typed with a straight face that non-American and non-European “subgroups” like Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East are almost solely responsible for what we consider modern society.” There are reams of evidence of technological innovations by the ancient Chinese, the ancient Indians, and the ancient Semites”emphasis on the “ancient.” For example, the Chinese invented gunpowder. But for some reason these perennial warriors and kung-fu fighters weren’t savvy enough to use their invention as a weapon of war. The ancient Indians are widely credited with inventing the numerical system we currently use. But they certainly didn’t invent calculus like Newton and Leibniz did. Most uncomfortable for egalitarians and their ilk is that there are vast landmasses”sometimes entire continents”where the indigenous inhabitants have invented virtually nothing. Sub-Saharan Africans are not known for contributing much to rocket science, and black Americans are so underrepresented as inventors that everyone has heard a gazillion times about the mulatto who improved blood-storage methods and George Washington Carver’s wondrous dalliances with the magical peanut. The so-called “Native Americans” are credited with inventing the spinning top, which somehow proved incapable of defending them against the white man and his guns. And Australia’s aborigines? Well, let’s not talk about them, because they’d be embarrassed. Peruvians can take pride in developing the art of potato cultivation. And I’ve already covered the Mexicans and their nachos. | Low | [
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Be Like Mike As a beginner to observant Judaism, during my studies and my prayers I have the feeling that what we do as Jews on a daily basis does not hold a candle to what Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Isaac, Moses, and others did to be blessed by G-d. I know G-d loves all His children and His greatest hope is with us, but it seems like an impossible act to follow. It may be a common feeling with Jews that have started studying again, but I feel somewhat unworthy of all the wonderful things G-d has given to me in my life, as well as my friends and family. I know the blessings are there and I thank G-d for all of them, but how do you fill in the feeling of inadequacy when praying and studying the Torah? Dear Mike, I admire your sensitivity and enthusiasm in your newfound interest in Judaism. It is a wonderful period in one’s spiritual growth, and may you always feel such novelty in your relationship with G-d, the Torah and prayer. You mention your feelings of inadequacy in comparison to the Patriarch’s and Matriarch’s phenomenal level of service of G-d. However, they didn’t view themselves or their service as great. David referred to himself as a worm, Abraham called himself dust and ashes, and Moses and Aharon barely recognized their existence by asking, “What are we?” This was not feigned humility — they were honestly aware of their insignificance in comparison with G-d and thereby felt unworthy of His blessing. In truth, this awareness and sensitivity did not discourage them from serving G-d. On the contrary, it motivated them to serve Him even more and was thus the very source of their greatness. So you see, as a descendent of our illustrious Patriarchs, you are actually walking in their footsteps. Another point to ponder is related to what you yourself mention regarding G-d loving His children. “Children” is the key word here. Consider the great joy and love a parent feels when his child takes his first steps or utters his first words. The wellspring of emotions is so great that it’s indescribable. Yet these steps are so awkward, uncoordinated, imbalanced, and short-lived — the baby falls. Similarly the baby’s first words, far from eloquent, are a combination of barely perceptible syllables mixed with drool. Yet the parents are ecstatic as baby mutters, “maw-mee” – “daa-dee”. Far from repulsing the parent, baby’s cumbersome and inadequate movements and speech are all the more endearing. This is, to a certain extent, how our deeds and prayers appear before G-d. Nevertheless, the fact that we have embarked on the path of growth and are making an effort despite our inadequacy is very endearing to G-d. It is regarding people and situations such as these that our Sages in the Midrash understood the verse “v’diglo alai ahava” to mean, “The omission of these people is beloved to Me.” Even if they read the word ‘v’ahavta’ (and you shall love your G-d) as ‘v’oyavta’ (and you shall estrange), since it comes from simple and wholehearted people, it is beloved to Me, says G-d (Shir HaShirim 2:4). A last point to keep in mind is that what we are taught about the amazing way in which the forefathers served G-d is not intended to mean that we must be just like them. They were extraordinary men and women who thereby merited being the foundation of the Jewish people. Rather, what we are told about them is intended to spur us to realize our own individual potential to the greatest degree possible as they did, even though both quantitatively and qualitatively we cannot come close to them. This is an important lesson regarding all of the stories we hear of the ways in which the righteous tzaddikim served G-d. We are to be encouraged to try our best as they did, even if we can’t do what they did. This is what the great Reb Zusha meant when he said, “After Zusha dies, the Heavenly court won’t ask, ‘Why weren’t you Moses’ but rather ‘Why weren’t you Zusha’?” Remember: The awareness of your “inadequacy” makes you greater; your “shortcomings” make you dearer; and G-d only compares you to the best Michael you can be. Articles may be distributed to another person intact without prior permission. We also encourage you to include this material in other publications, such as synagogue or school newsletters. Hardcopy or electronic. However, we ask that you contact us beforehand for permission in advance at [email protected] and credit for the source as Ohr Somayach Institutions www.ohr.edu | Mid | [
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Why is strlen so complex in C? - azhenley https://stackoverflow.com/q/57650895/938695 ====== saagarjha The accepted answer fails to understand that the standard library is exempt from following the C standard and makes a number of false or overly prescriptive assertions. (It also doesn't answer the question, but that's par for the course on Stack Overflow…) ~~~ seisvelas >that's par for the course on Stack Overflow This is tangential to the meat of your comment but I feel compelled to nitpick based entirely on personal anecdote: I have been helped hundreds of times on StackOverflow by people who had nothing to gain from it and yet provided in depth, insightful answers. In my experience, the farther you get away from the big, overwhelmed tags, the better the quality is. But you don't want to get so obscure that you are just ignored. The Racket community on SO is particularly fantastic, and (in my experience) the more 'web' related your question is, the worse answers you get. ~~~ saagarjha Yes, I'm not saying that Stack Overflow doesn't have "birdies". For example, I really enjoy this user's consistently high quality answers: [https://stackoverflow.com/users/224132/peter- cordes](https://stackoverflow.com/users/224132/peter-cordes) ~~~ seisvelas He once answered a question of mine about recursion with x86! ------ m463 Optimization hacks aside, I swoon at the simple (and verified) seL4 implementation (note strNlen): word_t strnlen(const char *s, word_t maxlen) { word_t len; for (len = 0; len < maxlen && s[len]; len++); return len; } [http://sel4.systems/](http://sel4.systems/) [https://github.com/seL4/seL4](https://github.com/seL4/seL4) (from file src/string.c) ~~~ ridiculous_fish The trailing semicolon on that for loop is quite load-bearing. I would have some code review feedback. ~~~ anticensor It can be replaced by continue; in this specific case. ------ bcaa7f3a8bbc It's worth pointing out that the author was reading an outdated implementation of strlen() from glibc. The generic implementation is still here with the same code, and would be complied if no ARCH-specific implementation is written, as seen here, [https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/string/strlen.c](https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/string/strlen.c). But it's probably irrelevant to most systems today, as the assembly version is almost always used, e.g. * i386: [https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/i386/str...](https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/i386/strlen.S) * i586/i686: [https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/i386/i58...](https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/i386/i586/strlen.S) * i686 w/ SSE2: [https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/i386/i68...](https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/i386/i686/multiarch/strlen-sse2.S) * i686 w/ SSE2 + BSF: [https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/i386/i68...](https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/i386/i686/multiarch/strlen-sse2-bsf.S) * x86_64 w/ SSE2: [https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/x86_64/s...](https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/x86_64/strlen.S) * ARM: [https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/arm/strl...](https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/arm/strlen.S) * ARMv6: [https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/arm/armv...](https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/arm/armv6/strlen.S) * ARMv6T2: [https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/arm/armv...](https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/arm/armv6t2/strlen.S) * ARMv8a/AArch64: [https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/aarch64/...](https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/aarch64/strlen.S) * ARMv8a/AArch64 w/ ASIMD: [https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/aarch64/...](https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/sysdeps/aarch64/multiarch/strlen_asimd.S) etc. ~~~ zamalek I was wondering how it would compare to the code produced by auto- vectorization, I guess it doesn't matter with hand-crafted assembly. ~~~ wahern The compiler can't autovectorize because it can't assume it's okay to read past the end of the string. Only the human or the machine can make that determination, using special knowledge about the environment, such as that when locating the NUL byte out-of-bounds reads are okay so long as they don't cross a page boundary. And "okay" is a stretch because tools like Valgrind ship with huge lists of manually maintained suppressions to account for hacks like this that violate the standard rules. ~~~ flukus But in this case a human applied their special knowledge in glibc, what's stopping the human applying the same knowledge to the compiler itself for this specific OS/arch? ~~~ wahern Primarily because it would make it more difficult to detect and debug out-of- bounds reads, so at the very least it's not something you'd want to do by default, even at high optimization levels. Possibly it might also be an awkward, complex, or dangerous (as in risk of unintended consequences) optimization to selectively violate the memory model that way. But I'm not familiar with the internals of optimizing compilers, so that's just conjecture. ------ Ididntdothis Have there been any efforts to add real string types and maybe arrays to C? Seems a lot of complications come from the primitive/not existing implementation of strings and arrays. ~~~ raverbashing It's such a shame that C gets some things like strings so wrong. Writing in C shouldn't have to be so painful, but I guess they were the pioneers in a lot of things and the "high level assembly" idea stuck. (Premature optimization?) Also having objects and method calls, even if it's syntactic sugar deep down, is the best kind of syntactic sugar ~~~ MadWombat This is kind of the point of C. It maps directly to the hardware. There are very few decisions the compiler has to make about the code. And it is for that reason that C does not allow for higher level abstractions. On one hand, it is a pain to write. On the other hand, you know exactly what is going on under the hood and nothing is ever going to stop you from shooting yourself in a body part of your choice :) ~~~ kllrnohj > This is kind of the point of C. It maps directly to the hardware. No it doesn't. It didn't in the past, it was a high-level abstraction. And it doesn't today, because CPUs don't behave at all like C's defined virtual machine. ~~~ justinmeiners > CPUs don't behave at all like C's defined virtual machine What "virtual machine" are you referring to? ~~~ anticensor One that ISO 9899 refers to as its abstract machine. ------ bjourne It wouldn't surprise me if the "unoptimized" strlen is just as fast or even faster on modern x86 hw. Both algorithms need to process the same amount of data. Thus they will fetch exactly the same number of cache lines from main memory. Likely, the cost of fetching those cache lines dominates, meaning that it doesn't matter that the "unoptimized" version does more processing per byte. Only way to find out for sure is to run the benchmarks. ~~~ BeeOnRope It's not even close. A per-byte loop is going to be be 4-6 times slower than the 8-byte chunks + a little math shown in the question. Let's say that all the stars align and you process an entire iteration of the byte-by-byte loop in 1 cycle. On a 4 GHz machine thats ... 4 GB/s. That's paltry compared to main memory bandwidth of 30-100 GB/s [1], not to mention say L1 bandwidth of ~ 256 GB/s (available to a single core). This idea that everything is memory limited it just false: it's pretty hard to write code efficient enough that it can be limited by memory _bandwidth_ on a single core. \--- [1] Admittedly, a single core can usually only access 20-30 GB/s of that, but that's still >> 4 GB/s. ~~~ bjourne Did you benchmark it? I did and found that on a Core-M with MSVC, the optimized strlen beats the naive one by about 20% and on Xeon with gcc, by about 40%. Depending on string length and other parameters. I would expect the difference to be smaller on more recent processors. But without benchmarking I don't think you can say. ~~~ BeeOnRope Yes, I have benchmarked it in the past which is where I got the 4-6x figure from. Maybe it's worth a revisit, but unless the compiler is doing something special with the byte version, I would be surprised if the speedup was much less. You may have to unroll both to get max speed. If you could share your benchmark I would be interested to look at it. ~~~ bjourne Benchmarks are always worth revisits. Mine is here [https://github.com/bjourne/c-examples/blob/master/programs/s...](https://github.com/bjourne/c-examples/blob/master/programs/strlen.c) | Low | [
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Hoyer: The Republican Budget Is An Exercise In Partisan Messaging "Mr. Speaker, the baseball season begins this week, so I'll quote the great Yogi Berra, who said: 'It's déjà vu all over again.' This year's Republican budget, which Chairman Ryan unveiled yesterday, is more of the same we've unfortunately come to expect. It's an exercise in partisan messaging. Not a serious and honest attempt to invest in our priorities and pursue compromise toward a sustainable fiscal outlook. "Their budget does not reflect the balanced approach of spending reforms, new revenues, and investments in our economy called for by both the Bowles-Simpson Commission and the Domenici-Rivlin Commission as well as by the Gang of Six in the United States Senate -- and in addition by almost every economist. The Ryan budget cuts $5 trillion without a single penny of new revenue. Not even a hint of balance. "Moreover, Chairman Ryan's budget once again relies on the 'magic asterisk' of hundreds of billions of dollars in spending cuts to important domestic programs. He doesn't say which programs we're going to cut. He simply says we're going to get the money. He said that last year, of course, and it didn't happen. But he gives virtually no details about the policies he expects to achieve these savings. To that extent, it is radically different than the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee's tax reform plan, which made real choices, showed real courage, and was a real document. "The Republican budget continues their obsession with repealing or undermining the Affordable Care Act -- the 53rd attempt to do so. However, of course, they keep all the savings and revenues that the Affordable Care Act is scored as giving. It would, furthermore, kick millions off their health insurance and turn Medicaid into a capped block grant, decimating the program and making life more difficult for all those millions who rely on it. "Once more, they are seeking to end the Medicare guarantee as we know it. Now, they will say it's a choice that at fifty-five you can make a choice whether you want to have private insurance, with a voucher you get from the federal government, or go into Medicare. That's what they say. The reality is, however, they would make traditional Medicare far, far, far more expensive, driving people out of that program and eliminating it over time. "Their budget, in addition, would make it very difficult, if not impossible, for Congress to invest in our economy and our people by driving domestic discretionary spending well below the sequester's harmful level. The American people ought to be outraged, but not surprised. We've seen this movie before, and it never ends well for Republicans or, tragically, does it end happily for the American people. "The new plot twist in this year's budget is Chairman Ryan going where no Budget Chairman has gone before, relying on the spurious gimmickry of so-called 'dynamic scoring' to pad his numbers with budget savings that simply do not exist. Now, we talked about this a lot. The 1981 tax cuts were supposed to boost the economy. In fact we increased the national debt by 187%. In 2001 and 2003, we were promised that the tax cuts would grow the economy. In fact, during those eight years of the Bush administration, we had the worst economy that anybody in this chamber has experienced -- and indeed, I would presume, in the galleries as well. "While Chairman Ryan claims his budget balances in ten years, in reality his projection for revenues in 2024 is less than his projection for outlays. In other words, no balance. That's the simple budget math. The only way Chairman Ryan can pretend his math works is by using Republicans' dynamic scoring trick. This is the same trick that paved the way for the Bush tax cuts to turn record surpluses into record deficits, as I said. It's sort of like a family making its budget and projecting, well, we are going to get a big raise because the boss is going to be doing better, and the economy is going to be doing better, and we'll get a big raise. So we'll budget as if we had already gotten the raise. What happens is you don't get that raise, and you are deeply in the hole. Americans get that. It's a shame their Congress doesn't get that. "Republicans have a bill on the Floor this week to force the nonpartisan CBO to use the Republican math. The virtue of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office was that it would give us honest numbers. Now the Republicans want to force them to give them their numbers, that they want, that make it easier for them to pretend that things are going to get better with their policies rather than putting their policies in place and then seeing if it does get better -- and, if it does, we have a bonus. Of course, if it doesn't, we run up large deficits that we did in the last administration, as we did in the Reagan Administration, as we did in the first Bush Administration, and yes, slightly, in the Clinton Administration. But, in the Clinton Administration, over every Republican's objections, we balanced the budget in four years. “We need a budget, Mr. Speaker, that reflects our real challenges and recognizes that we must compromise to make the difficult choices necessary to meet them. The American people deserve a budget this focuses not on gimmicks but one that promotes opportunity, growth, and security. Compromise not confrontation. Pragmatism, not partisanship. What works, not what sounds good. “Our budget proposal should reflect our priorities and enable us to rise to meet our challenges. The Republican budget that's going to be voted on today in the Budget Committee does not do that. Now the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Speaker, wrote an editorial about the Ryan priorities, most of which I disagree with. Because I think they are reliant, as Ryan does, on dynamic scoring is a fool's errand, and has been proved to be such over the years that I have served in Congress over the last thirty-three years. But I do agree with their conclusion, and they say this, 'the Ryan outline does the service of showing the policy direction in which the Republicans would head if they regain control of the Senate next year.' I agree with that. “I think this is a litmus test for the American people. They can review the Ryan budget. They can review its consequences to them, themselves, their families, their children, their community. They can see the adverse consequences of a plan that will not work, and I predict – as I predicted last year, Mr. Speaker – the Appropriations Committee headed by Hal Rogers, Republican Chairman, will not bring appropriation bills to the Floor that will pass on this Floor that will implement the Ryan budget, notwithstanding the fact that Ryan's party controls this House. I predicted that last year and I was right. As a matter of fact, no bills passed this House at the Ryan budget numbers last year. None. Not one. “Sadly, I think that's what's going to happen this year. Sadly for the American people. Sadly for this Congress. Sadly for our children. Mr. Speaker, we can do better. We can be real. We ought to do the job that the American people expect us to do. And get this country on a fiscally sustainable path. Not with smoke and mirrors but with sincerity and courage.” | Low | [
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Improving the quality of surveillance data on congenital heart defects in the metropolitan Atlanta congenital defects program. One of the challenges in epidemiologic studies of congenital heart defects (CHDs) has been the lack of a current, standard nomenclature and classification system. Recently such a standard nomenclature became available from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Congenital Heart Surgery Database. This study reports the classification of cases of CHDs in a birth defects surveillance database using modified STS nomenclature. Records of infants and fetuses in the Metropolitan Atlanta Congenital Defects Program delivered during 1968-2003 with CHD diagnoses were reviewed by a team of pediatric cardiologists. The cases were assigned one or more STS codes and subsequently grouped into successively broader levels of aggregation. Aggregation was based on presumed morphogenetically similar developmental mechanisms. There were 12,639 cases reviewed, of which 89% had a single, primary STS code. Structural CHDs were found in 7,749 infants, while 4,890 were considered to have structurally normal hearts. Application of clinical CHD nomenclature improved the clinical accuracy of surveillance data by eliminating normal physiologic variants and obligatory shunt lesions. Classification also aggregated specific CHDs into groups appropriate for research and surveillance. Application of a current, standard CHD nomenclature and classification system to cases in a birth defects surveillance database improves the specificity of cardiac diagnoses and allows for the development of a flexible case aggregation system for monitoring of CHD prevalence. | High | [
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The last of Garden of Eden posts…the back deck. The back deck is a perfect place for a coffee (sometimes peppered with liquid gold (Bailey’s)) in the morning…facing east, the sun is perfect in the morning. I have vegetables and herbs in this space (I garden in pots & am able to grow peas, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes)…love to use terracotta pots for a Spanish influence. Use typically inside items to make an outdoor space homey…I have a Baker’s rack (it has gotten all rusty from weather which makes it even more cool) which allows me to display ornaments & herbs & creates a space for different eye levels. I enjoyed reading this article this morning…give it a whirl…..“When you stop chasing the wrong things you give the right things a chance to catch you.” As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Nothing could be closer to the truth. But before you can begin this process of transformation you have to stop doing the things that have been holding you back. Here are some ideas to get you started: 1.Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you. You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot. Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth. And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends. 2.Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on. No, it won’t be easy. There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them. We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems. That’s not how we’re made. In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall. Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time. This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become. 3.Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself. Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves. Read The Road Less Traveled. 4.Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too. Yes, help others; but help yourself too. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now. 5.Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else. Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you. Don’t change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you. 6.Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one. 7.Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing. Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success. You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did. 8.Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us. We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future. Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come. 9.Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive. But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions. 10.Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either. You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else. Read Stumbling on Happiness. 11.Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place. Evaluate situations and take decisive action. You cannot change what you refuse to confront. Making progress involves risk. Period! You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first. 12.Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first. 13.Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. There’s no need to rush. If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely. 14.Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you. But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you. 15.Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others are doing better than you. Concentrate on beating your own records every day. Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only. 16.Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own. Ask yourself this: “What’s something I have that everyone wants?” 17.Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. – Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you. You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough. But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past. You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation. So smile! Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be. 18.Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart. You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate. Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.” It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.” Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself! And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too. If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time. 19.Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs. 20.Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway. Just do what you know in your heart is right. 21.Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly. 22.Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things. The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you. 23.Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done. Read Getting Things Done. 24.Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile. Don’t take the easy way out. Do something extraordinary. 25.Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while. You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well. You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears. The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again. 26.Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life. 27.Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out. But making one person smile CAN change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus. 28.Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy. One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time? Three years? Five years?” If not, then it’s not worth worrying about. 29.Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen. Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story. If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right. 30.Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs. Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing. When my son passed away there was no way I was putting him in the ground but I needed a space where I could visit that was full of “him”. Mike had a miniture rabbit when he was growing up & it all kind of unfolded that in a special little place in our yard, a Memory Rabbie Garden was created. Every year a new rabbie is welcomed. I have been very conflicted on putting my beautiful garden on Blog since the flooding in Calgary. There is so much devastation everywhere, I felt like if I was putting up these pictures of the yard it was kind of a slap in the face to people who didn’t fare as well as we did. In talking to a couple of my girlfriends, who are wiser than the average owl they enlightened me into a different way of looking at a few things. Maybe sharing the beauty of nature would bring a smile & hope. Bazinga, so here are pictures of the yard. You can use so many things to create comfy, interesting spaces around the yard….like a few below: I am a moss lover with a mild case of old wire cage addiction Marbles in a cloche Plastic bugs under a cloche My bro cut up a tree in slabs for me…I used them as table tops to display, use an urn or pot as a base for top Vary elevation of pots & ornaments Group in odd numbers Make a bird bath fountain from terracotta pots When you are done with displaying something inside, make outside their new home (I did that with ginger jars) Succulents are an easy grow & good lookers. They are one of my favorite outside plants…you can make them unique by adding small stones, colored rock, sand etc to cover soil. You can also add a unique piece of wood, piece of slate, special rock you picked up etc. Below are a few ideas on how to display. For the old window frame…..I planted succulent seeds in a tray over top of burlap & dirt, once they had all come up I put plastic netting in a window pane, flipped the rectangle of succulents in pane, placed a board over succulents, stapled netting to back of board to hold everything together then nailed the board to back of window. The pallet succulent garden I had seen on Pinterest…my Toy Boy made the pallet more stable and put a solid wood back on it. I filled with dirt and planted succulents in the 2 openings, leaving it flat for a couple of weeks to let plants settle in so that when tipped up they don’t all fall out. I planted Portulaca on the top once in place for color and I stained the boards to give a more finished look. | Mid | [
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Learn more about using open source R for big data analysis, predictive modeling, data science and more from the staff of Revolution Analytics. May 14, 2009 Parallelized Backtesting with foreach Back in March, Bryan Lewis gave a demonstration of parallel backtesting using REvolution R Enterprise and the ParallelR 2.0 suite of packages. In this post, I'll run through the code in detail; the complete script and data file are available for download at the end of this post (after the break). The goal here is to optimize the parameters for a simple automated trading rule. We will use the MACD oscillator as the basis of the trading rule. MACD compares a short-term (fast) moving average with a long-term (slow) moving average. When the difference between the fast and slow moving averages exceeds a signal line (itself a moving average of the difference) this signals "buy"; otherwise it signals "sell". The MACD depends on three parameters: the number of historical data points (period) of the fast moving average (nFast), the period of the slow moving average (nSlow) and the period of the signal moving average (nSig). For example, here is the daily close of Intel Corp (INTC) from 2007-2009, along with the MACD with nFast=12, nSlow=26 and nSig=9: require(quantmod) chartSeries(INTC) addMACD(fast=12, slow=26, signal=9) (Click to enlarge this and later charts.) The gray line in the lowest panel is the MACD and the red line is the signal. (Incidentally, being able to create a chart like this in just 2 lines of code is a great example of the power of the quantmod package.) Our trading strategy will be to buy (go long on) INTC when the MACD exceeds the signal, and to sell all INTC and buy IEF (10-year treasuries, a benchmark and safe haven for our cash) when the MACD goes below the signal. We can compare the performance of INTC to our benchmark IEF by looking at the cumulative returns: INTC was handily outperforming our benchmark IEF until early 2008. Since then there have been periodic small rallies which our trading strategy may be able to capitalize on. The key here is optimizing our trading strategy to detect these short rallies. The MACD depends on three parameters nFast, nSlow and nSig, and varying any or all of them might result in better (or worse!) overall performance. We can write a simple function to calculate the returns from our trading strategy given these parameters. Given a series of indicators z (in our example, the INTC close) and the MACD parameters, it takes a long position on the return series long on a buy signal and reverts to the benchmark series otherwise: If we'd used this trading rule with the default parameters since 2007 we'd have done fairly well with a steadily growing investment. A standard way of evaluating our performance compared to the risk we're taking on is to calculate the Sharpe Ratio: Dt <- na.omit(R - Rb) sharpe <- mean(Dt)/sd(Dt) print (paste("Ratio = ",sharpe)) SharpeRatio (na.omit(Ra)) # for buy-and-hold strategy For the default parameters we get a Sharpe Ratio of 0.073 (compared to a Sharpe Ratio of -0.015 for simply holding INTC), but we might be able to do better than that by choosing other parameters. For the sake of simplicity, let's hold the nSig parameter at 9 days. A brute-force method would be to simply try thousands of combinations of nFast and nSlow and see which ones result in the highest Sharpe Ratio. Here's one way of doing so, testing 4466 combinations subject to some common-sense constraints (namely, that nFast is at least 5 days and nSlow at least 2 days longer): M <- 100 S <- matrix(0,M,M) for (jin5:(M-1)) { for (kinmin((j+2),M):M) { R <- simpleRule(z$INTC,j,k,9, Ra, Rb) Dt <- na.omit(R - Rb) S[j,k] <- mean(Dt)/sd(Dt) } } The best Sharpe Ratio from all the tests is 0.194, when nFast is 5 and nSlow is 7. On my dual-core MacBook, that code takes about 77 seconds (in stopwatch-time) to run. REvolution R does a good job of making use of the dual cores for mathematical operations like these, but even then the CPUs are not fully utilized. This is typical of what I see in the Activity Monitor while that code runs: Of course, we could refine the optimization further by using a longer date history and cross-validating against data held back from the optimization, but we'll leave that as an exercise for the reader. My goal here is rather to show how we can improve the performance by parallelizing that brute-force optimization. This is an example of an "embarassingly parallel" problem: each pair of parameter values can be tested independently of all the other combinations, as the results (the Sharpe Ratio) are all independent of each other. On a multiprocessor system, we can reduce the time required for the calculation by running some of the tests in parallel. The ParallelR suite of packages, available with REvolution R Enterprise, makes this very easy for us. All I need to do is replace a "for" loop with a "foreach" loop. foreach from ParallelR is similar to the standard for loop in R, except that the iterations of the loop may run in parallel, using additional instances of R launched automatically on the current workstation. foreach also differs from for in that it returns a value: the result of each iteration collected (by default) into a list. Here's how I'd rewrite the code above to run the outer loop with 2 parallel instances of R: This version of the code gives the same results, but runs in just 54 seconds according to my stopwatch. It also makes much better use of my dual CPUs: Getting a 30% reduction in the processing time was pretty simple: all I needed to do was change one for loop to a foreach / %dopar% loop, and initialize the system with a "sleigh" object to indicate that two R sessions should be used on the current machine in parallel. I could get even better gains on a machine with more processors (on a quad-core I could run 4 sessions in parallel), or by distributing the computations across a cluster of networked machines. ParallelR makes all of this very easy, with a simple change to the sleigh call. Also of note is that I did not require any special code to populate the "worker" R sessions with the various objects required for the computation. Some other parallel computing systems for R require a lot of housekeeping to make sure that each R session has all the data it needs, but with ParallelR this isn't necessary. ParallelR automatically analyzed my code, and knew that it needed to transmit objects like Rb to the worker sessions. The only housekeeping I needed to do was to indicate that the packages xts and TTR should be loaded for each worker session, and that the results should be combined into a matrix rather than a list. So to sum up, ParallelR and the foreach function provide a simple mechanism to speed up "embarrassingly parallel" problems, even on modest hardware like a dual-core laptop. In many cases, with just a simple conversion from the for syntax to the foreach syntax you can get significant speedups without having to worry about many of the housekeeping details of setting up worker R sessions. And for the really big problems, you just need to change one line of code to move your job onto a distributed cluster or grid. If you want to try this out yourself, download the two files below. The first file is the data for INTC and IEF, downloaded from Vhayu. You'll need to run the script parallelbacktesting.R in REvolution R Enterprise 2.0. You'll also need version 0.6 or later of the xts package. TrackBack Comments You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post. David (and Bryan), This is awesome! Thanks for sharing the code! One (trivial?) comment: I was a bit confused about where the INTC and IEF data came from until I got to the end of the post. I would have expected to see a "load('Vhayu.Rdata')" command before the chartSeries call. great post, but is there not a lagging issue here? don't you need to lag the signal by a day to make sure you are not capturing the return on the day that the macd signals (i.e. removing a current day look forward?) @Brian, I *think* the code is correct. (Going by memory here -- I haven't rerun the code lately.) It's unusual R syntax, but it's returning either the value "long" or "benchmark" according to the value of "s" -- treated as numeric, (s>0) is a sequence of 1's and 0's. It looks as if can skip the s <- xts(position,order.by = index(z)) I made it a comment by adding # before it. Then when applying the rule I past the "position" into the rule! I maybe missing something but the position is and xts object and needs not be converted? return(long*(position>0)+benchmark*(position<=0)) Below is the code and how I changed it. Any feedback would be great! Also, I think you have a lag issue? While I'm asking questions, what would be the quickest way to subset the data to test different time frames? Thank you, Douglas | Mid | [
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Q: Where does SSMS save user created templates? Does SSMS save these to a file location or are they managed internally thru SSMS? If there is a location where is it? A: I just created one. It seems to put it in %appdata%\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Tools\Shell\Templates | High | [
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Cytologically Indeterminate Follicular Thyroid Nodule on Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology is an Indication for Total Thyroidectomy. The magnitude of case management of indeterminate thyroid nodule is very difficult and controversial. In addition there is recent evidence that the incidence of follicular lesion may be increasing that will prove to be follicular cancer. This prospective observational study was done in the department of Surgery at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh from February 2016 to January 2017 to investigates the rate of malignancy and inability of demographical, clinical and sonographic data to predict malignancy in indeterminate nodules and the unreliability of intraoperative frozen section biopsy with the scope of determining the need for total thyroidectomy in these patients. The study population consisted of 40 cases presenting indeterminate nodules (Thy3): females (80%) and males (20%) with a mean age of 35.73±11.11 years. All patients underwent total thyroidectomy. Malignancy was diagnosed in 27 out of 40 patients (67.5%). The mean nodule size was 3.67±1.69mm in malignant lesions, 40.7% of the malignant nodules were more than 3cm in size, 51.9% of malignant cases were irregular border and 29.6% of malignant lesions were hard in consistency; these data are statistically significant (<0.05) and correlated with malignancy. The rate of malignancy in cytologically indeterminate lesions was high in the present study sample compared to other reported studies. Thus, considering the fact that demographical, clinical and sonographic features were found to be inaccurate predictors of malignancy, it is our opinion that total thyroidectomy should always be recommend in such patients. | High | [
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395 F.2d 58 B. E. DURHAM, t/a North Carolina Residential Water Company and Water Company, Inc. of Kannapolis, North Carolina, Appellant,v.STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, North Carolina Utilities Commission, and Kannapolis Sanitary District, Appellees. No. 12079. United States Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit. Argued April 1, 1968. Decided May 7, 1968. A. Philip Towsner, Washington, D. C. (Z. V. Morgan, Hamlet, N. C., on brief), for appellant. George A. Goodwyn, Asst. Atty. Gen. of North Carolina, for appellee State of North Carolina. Edward B. Hipp, Raleigh, N. C., General Counsel, for appellee North Carolina Utilities Commission. Beverly C. Moore, Greensboro, N. C. (Bachman S. Brown, Jr., Kannapolis, N. C., Norman B. Smith, Greensboro, N. C., and John Hugh Williams, Concord, N. C., on brief), for appellee Kannapolis Sanitary District. Before SOBELOFF, BRYAN and CRAVEN, Circuit Judges. ALBERT V. BRYAN, Circuit Judge: 1 Water Company, Inc. of North Carolina and its chief stockholder, B. E. Durham, seek damages of the State, its Utilities Commission, and the Kannapolis Sanitary District for infringement of its franchise. The District Court granted defendants' motions to dismiss and plaintiff has appealed. We affirm. 2 In 1951, Durham received a certificate of franchise from the Commission entitling him to operate a waterworks and distribution system in certain areas of Rowan and Cabarrus Counties. In 1959, it approved a transfer of his operations to the Water Company which has been serving approximately 1200 area residents ever since.1 It is the real plaintiff here. 3 Kannapolis Sanitary District is a body politic and corporate established in 1963 under the laws of North Carolina.2 As a public utility, its principal purposes are to provide water and sewerage facilities to persons within its limits. Its territory includes portions of that covered by the Water Company, and its potential operational field embraces some 22,000 residents. Prior to the establishment of the District, the area had no general water system, only limited fire protection, and sewerage disposal was by septic tank and privy. These deficiencies will be cured by the District when its building program is completed. 4 For organization of the District, its proponents were required by law first to present to the County Commissioners a petition signed by at least 51 per cent of the resident freeholders within its proposed service region. It had also to pass the scrutiny of public hearings before the local County Commissioners and convince them, as well as the residents and the State Board of Health, that the public health and welfare would be advanced by the District.3 All these tests were passed by the District, and all without protest or objection from the plaintiff Water Company. 5 Thereafter, in 1963, the District received a commitment for a loan of $6,015,000.00 from the Federal Housing and Home Finance Agency.4 Afterwards, an issue of $6,354,000.00 in water and sewer bonds was approved in an election by residents within the reach of the District. Construction began in 1967 for readiness in November 1968. 6 The defendant District asserts, and it is not denied, that in 1966 it expressed an interest in purchasing from the Water Company those portions of its properties which could be conveniently incorporated into the system planned by the District. Negotiations ensued, but without success because the Water Company put an excessive price on its assets. Also, it refused to sell separately and alone those items which would prove useful to the District.5 7 In May 1967, pursuant to its financing plan, the District applied for the issuance of bond anticipation notes. Then in August the Water Company began this action, and so prevented the District from obtaining the non-litigation certificate necessary for negotiation of the notes. 8 Damages of $1,000,000.00 are sought on the allegation that entry by the District into the Water Company's area of operations constitutes an impairment of its franchise, the equivalent of an uncompensated taking. Federal question jurisdiction is invoked by grounding the action on the fourteenth amendment.6 Premise of recovery against the State of North Carolina and the Utilities Commission is unclear. With respect to them, the complaint alleges only that: 9 "2. The former two party defendants caused to be issued [to plaintiff] a legally constituted and effective franchise to operate a water service business in the area of Kannapolis, North Carolina * * *. 10 "3. Plaintiff has prudently operated a water service company, in accordance with established rates, since a date prior to May 27, 1931. 11 "4. On or about and prior to January, 1964, to wit, there was caused to be created the Kannapolis Sanitary District, to include the encompassing of the area specifically franchised to Plaintiff." 12 From this the District Court inferred, as do we, that the action purported to declare the fourteenth amendment violation against all the defendants. The fatal infirmity of the case is that the Water Company concedes it has only a non-exclusive franchise and, indeed, North Carolina's Constitution forbids the granting of an exclusive license, N.C. Const., Art. 1, §§ 7, 31. 13 Further, it has long been settled that the holder of a non-exclusive franchise has no monopoly, and cannot complain of competition from a publiclycreated utility system. E. g. Hill v. Elizabeth City, 298 F. 67 (4 Cir. 1924); Elizabeth City Water & Power Co. v. Elizabeth City, 188 N.C. 278, 124 S.E. 611 (1924). Phrased another way, the creation by a State of a competing public utility does not amount to a "taking" compensable under the fourteenth amendment. Newburyport Water Co. v. City of Newburyport, 193 U.S. 561, 577, 24 S.Ct. 553, 48 L.Ed. 795 (1904). Thus in Helena Water Works Co. v. Helena, 195 U.S. 383, 392, 25 S.Ct. 40, 43, 49 L.Ed. 245 (1904), the Supreme Court said: 14 "It is doubtless true that the erection of such a plant by the city will render the property of the water company less valuable, and perhaps, unprofitable, but if it was intended to prevent such competition, a right to do so should not have been left to argument or implication, but made certain by the terms of the * * * [franchise]." 15 The conclusion that in law the State has neither expropriated or damaged the plaintiff's rights of property warranted the District Court's dismissal of the action on North Carolina's motion. Assuming that plaintiff has a claim in tort against the State, which we doubt, there is here neither the requisite citizenship diversity for Federal jurisdiction, nor a showing of the State's waiver of sovereign immunity. 16 Identical to those against the State, but even more tenuous, the claims pressed upon the Utilities Commission fail for the same reasons. Furthermore, the Commission is unrelated to the Sanitary District. The Commission did not create the District, has no control or regulation of it and is not answerable for the District's acts. The decision of the trial judge granting the Commission's motion to dismiss must stand. 17 Plaintiff Water Company couches its claim against the District in these words: 18 "5. On or about August 26, 1965, to wit, the said Kannapolis Sanitary District, pursuant to its request was advised in writing by Plaintiff as to the value of its property rights, which to date the said Kannapolis Sanitary District has not replied to and continues to ignore the constitutional right of the Plaintiffs. 19 "6. On or about November 11, 1965 and prior thereto and to wit, without the approval of the Plaintiff, the said third party defendant commenced contacting customers of Plaintiff, inducing them to contract with the said third party defendant for services heretofore contracted with Plaintiff, with full knowledge by all defendants that there is in existence an effective contract between the Plaintiff and his respective customers. 20 "7. On or about June 19, 1967, to wit, without the approval of the Plaintiff, the said third party defendant destroyed certain property of Plaintiff, necessary to Plaintiff's business as a water company, and continues to destroy similar property without prior advice to Plaintiff and without any authority from Plaintiff." 21 On oral argument of the motions to dismiss, the Water Company clarified somewhat its cause of action as pleaded. From this it appears that the plaintiff contends that its fourteenth amendment rights were infringed by an attempt of the District to contract with the Water Company's customers. The assertion has no merit, for the holder of a non-exclusive franchise, as earlier noted, has no immunity from competition. Hill v. Elizabeth City, supra, 298 F. 67 (4 Cir. 1924). 22 Plaintiff's second claim against the District is that it "destroyed certain property" of the Water Company. Apparently, the District in installing its mains and meters damaged some of those of the plaintiff. The District admits this, but insists that it has made full repairs. Regardless of their merit, these claims certainly do not tender a Federal question. Damage of that kind is not a "taking" within the meaning of the fourteenth amendment. Whether there is an available State court tort action is not an issue here, but the present complaint certainly does not attain constitutional stature. 23 Unquestionably, the creation of the District was a serious economic blow to the Water Company. Once in operation, the Water Company may well be unable to compete, and its continued existence can be jeopardized. The parties seemed to realize this; their negotiations for the sale and acquisition of the Water Company's properties indicate their awareness. What we said, apropos of very similar circumstances, in Hill v. Elizabeth City, supra, 298 F. 67, 70 (4 Cir. 1924) seems equally applicable here: 24 "The court is constrained to say that the loss which a failure of the parties to agree will entail ought to be averted. There is an amount of money, as everybody knows, which expresses the value of the existing plants to the municipality for use in its own construction. The hope is indulged that some one will have the wit to find that amount, even in the cloud of feeling, and make the rightness of it so plain that it will be paid and accepted." 25 The judgment of the District Court is affirmed. 26 Affirmed. Notes: 1 Durham has operated a waterworks since 1931, but did not obtain a franchise until 1951 2 Gen.Stat.No.Car. §§ 130-123 et seq. (1964), as amended, Gen.Stat.No.Car. §§ 130-124 et seq. (Cum.Supp.1967) 3 See statutes cited in note 2, supra 4 See 12 U.S.C. §§ 1701 et seq 5 According to the District, the Federal Government, through the Housing and Home Finance Agency, permitted the District to purchase only equipment which could be used in its system 6 U.S.Const., Amend. XIV provides in pertinent part "No State shall * * * deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law * * *." | Low | [
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These General Terms and Conditions shall apply to any and all mutual claims arising from and in relation with agreements made between you and Steiff Gallery UK, Regents Arcade, Unit 75 The Glades Shopping Centre, Bromley, Kent BR1 1DD, (hereinafter referred to as "Steiff Gallery") through online trade. Any differing terms and conditions shall not be accepted unless Steiff has expressly agreed to their application in writing. § 2Conclusion of agreements 1.The purchase order shall constitute your offer (declaration of agreement) for the conclusion of a sales agreement to Steiff Gallery, to which you shall be bound for 2 weeks and subsequently until the receipt of a written revocation by Steiff Gallery. The receipt of the purchase order shall be confirmed by Steiff Gallery by e-mail. Such order confirmation shall not be deemed an acceptance of your purchase order but only inform you that your purchase order has been received by Steiff Gallery. The agreement shall be deemed concluded either by a further express declaration of acceptance by Steiff Gallery or upon the dispatch or delivery of the ordered goods. 2.Steiff Gallery shall only enter into agreements with you if you have unlimited legal capacity, i.e. no agreement shall be made if you are a minor. § 3Right of return 1.You shall be entitled to return the goods received without having to indicate any reasons within two weeks by returning the goods. Such period shall start upon receipt of the information about this right in writing (e.g. by letter, fax, e-mail), however not before the goods have been received by the recipient and not before our obligations to inform in accordance with § 312c para. 2 BGB [German Civil Code] in conjunction with § 1 para.1, 2 and 4 BGB-InfoV [Regulation about the obligations to inform and provide evidence under civil law] as well as our obligations in accordance with § 312e para.1 sentence 1 BGB in conjunction with § 3 BGB-InfoV have been fulfilled. Only with goods that cannot be dispatched by parcel (e.g. with bulky goods) may you declare the return by means of a written request to take back the goods. In order for this period to be deemed met, it shall be sufficient to dispatch the goods or the request to take back the goods within such period. Goods are sent back at your own risk, so please send by recorded means. Postal charges will not be refunded. The return or request to take back the goods shall be made to: 2.In the event of an effective return, anything that has mutually been received in performance of the agreement and any benefits already received (e.g. benefits through use) shall be restored. In the event of a deterioration of the goods, compensation for lost value may be claimed.This shall not apply if the deterioration of the goods can exclusively be attributed to their inspection – as, for instance, it would have been possible at a shop. For the rest, you can avoid to become liable for compensation for a deterioration that is due to having used the object for its intended purpose by not using the goods as if you were their owner and refraining from anything that might affect their value. Any obligations to refund payments shall be fulfilled within 30 days. This period shall start upon the dispatch of the goods or the request to take back the goods for you and upon their receipt for Steiff Gallery. 3.The right of return shall not apply if the ordered goods are manufactured or modified according to your wishes, e.g. personal bears, articles from the bear configurator, studio pets or customised embroideries. 2.Any information about delivery periods shall be non-binding; this shall also and particularly apply if an article is labelled "available from...". Indicated delivery periods shall only be binding if the delivery date has expressly been promised as binding by way of exception. 3.If articles are ordered that are not available on the date of the purchase order (e.g. labelled "available from..." or "currently not available"), Steiff Gallery may withdraw from any agreement that has been made if the article is ultimately not manufactured anymore. Its withdrawal shall be deemed declared upon an according notification to you. In such event, you shall be released from your payment obligation as well as Steiff Gallery shall be released from its delivery obligation. Any further mutual damage claims shall be excluded. 4.If any disturbances of the business operations occur with Steiff Gallery or its suppliers that cannot be attributed to them, particularly events of force majeure, which are due to an unforeseeable and uncaused event and lead to severe interruptions of operations and render the performance of the agreement impossible, Steiff Gallery shall be entitled to withdraw from the agreement. You shall then be released from your payment obligations, and Steiff Gallery shall be released from its delivery obligations. Steiff Gallery shall immediately refund any (down-)payments that have already been made. Any further mutual damage claims shall be excluded. § 5Prices/payment 1.The prices shall not include any delivery charges. Unless expressly otherwise agreed upon, the delivery charges to the amount of 7 Pounds for the UK and 14 Pounds for Europe shall be borne by you. 2.The only payment option available to you shall be payment by credit card (Visa, Mastercard). § 6Warranty/liability 1.The warranty shall be subject to the legal provisions. 2.The warranty shall not cover any defects that arise with you due to natural wear, moisture, improper treatment or improper storage. Likewise, customary deviations with the materials used, particularly with respect to colour shades, that are reasonable for you shall be reserved. 3.Unless expressly otherwise agreed upon, the descriptions given in catalogues, brochures or other publications shall constitute descriptions of the properties of the delivered goods and their potential use but no warranted durability or properties. 4.Any guarantee promises shall at any case expressly be confirmed by Steiff Gallery. 5.Any further damage claims on any legal grounds whatsoever, particularly for breach of agreed collateral obligations, claims for damages due to tortuous acts or compensation for costs shall be excluded. This shall not apply if a material obligation under the agreement (cardinal obligation) has been breached or the damage has been caused by wilful or grossly negligent conduct. The exclusion of liability shall not apply either to any culpable damage to life, body or health. Notwithstanding the exclusion of liability, claims under the product liability act or based on any promised guarantees, provided that it is the object of such guarantee that triggers the liability, shall also continue to apply. § 7Retention of title The title to any and all items delivered shall remain with Steiff Gallery until any and all obligations under the agreement have completely been fulfilled. You shall not be entitled to resell the retained goods without the consent of Steiff Gallery. § 8Offsets/retention 1.You shall only be entitled to make offsets if your counterclaims have finally been established or are undisputed by Steiff Gallery. 2.Furthermore, you shall only be entitled to execute a right of retention if your counterclaim is based on the same agreement. § 9Data protection We shall hereby inform you that personal data as defined by the Federal Data Protection Act will be processed in the course of the business relationships or in relation with such. Subject to your objection, such data shall also be used in order to inform you about the products and services of Steiff Gallery. You shall hereby be informed that you may at any time object to such use of your data in writing (e.g. by letter, fax, e-mail). Further information can be seen from the declaration on data protection under www.steiff-gallery-london.co.uk § 10Final provisions 1.The legal relationships between you and Steiff Gallery shall exclusively be governed by the laws of the UK (England); the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and the provisions of private international law shall be excluded. 2.The place of jurisdiction and the place of performance shall be the domicile of Steiff Gallery if you are a businessperson or you place of residence is not within the UK. However, Steiff Gallery shall also be entitled to sue you at your general place of jurisdiction. 3.If any provisions are entirely or partially ineffective, this shall not affect the effectiveness of the remaining provisions. 4. Lay-away and deposits paid are non-refundable and non transferable. The Steiff Gallery does not offer refunds. We are happy to exchange within 28 days of purchase, providing the item is in a resalable condition and is accompanied by the original receipt. Steiff Gallery may update and amend these General Terms and Conditions at any time. Any use shall only be subject to the General Terms and Conditions as amended. | Low | [
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How a Smart Combination of a QR and Barcode Can Disrupt the Supply Chain Industry EndChain Follow Nov 15, 2018 · 2 min read Supply Chain Problems: Tracking within a corporation is not always transparent, let alone among different legal entities. Land transportation providers, carriers, governments, customs brokers, and freight forwarders all rely on outdated ways of keeping track of their goods. These antiquated systems use outdated methods such as physical paperwork and bonded couriers. By not being up to date on the latest technology, corporations suffer from delays and incomplete tracking information. Logistics can be brought into the 21st century by using blockchain to transmit orders, letters of credit and delivery receipts without the use of bonded couriers What’s already in the market — limitations Presently, there are multiple companies attempting to fix the problems associated with the current logistics system by using blockchain. These companies often pose similar solutions that are plagued with reoccurring problems. One of the most glaring problems is that there is a lack of an all in one solution to a worldwide problem. This is mostly due to current blockchain companies focusing on a niche area. With the right system, a single smart chain can transparently display the entire logistics network from the producer to the end of the good’s life cycle. The next problem is the difficulty of the solutions currently in place. A potential long term and widespread solution should be easily adaptable to each part of the value chain. Expecting businesses or consumers to manually enter goods is an unreasonable expectation. There should be nothing to add beyond the scan of a package. Technology can be molded to handle the rest of the necessary steps and to fit the needs of all users wanting to access the data in any degree. The new solution The solution the market needs is 2 fold: an easy way to integrate into existing systems and a low per-item cost. Without these problems being fixed, it is not economically feasible to use blockchain on everyday items. Yet, consumers should not be worried more about the origin of their handbag over the food they put in their body. Blockchain technology has evolved to a point where it is possible to track everything on the blockchain. The problem has been creating a cost effective solution. EndChain was founded on the idea that there must be a simple solution to this problem. That has lead us to create our patent-pending QR and barcode combination. Through an API, our codes can be printed directly on the packaging. This allows blockchain tracking to cost no more than the price of the paper it is printed on. Additionally, our unique code allows for easy recognition by our program. By being easily recognizable, EndChain can simply run in the background of any system and activate when it recognizes the unique EndChain code. It will then extract the barcode data and enter it into the legacy systems while at the same time, extracting the unique QR code data and updating the blockchain. | Mid | [
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Hepatitis C virus infection rates and risk factors in an Australian hospital endoscopy cohort. To determine the reservoir and risk factors of HCV infection in a hospital population. The presence of anti-HCV in 2,119 endoscopy patients was related to putative risk factors for exposure using the SAS statistical package. Most of the 4.7% of anti-HCV positive patients had multiple risk factors for HCV exposure. The risk was significantly increased in patients; with a previous history of hepatitis (36.4 fold), past history of injecting drugs (IDU) (32.1 fold), those born in North Africa, Middle East and Mediterranean countries (4.3 fold), had been tattooed before 1980s (3.3 fold), from 1980s-1990s (5.9 fold), had acupuncture before 1980s (3.8 fold), had a blood transfusion (3.6 fold), had clotting factors or growth hormone (4 fold), had contact with someone diagnosed with hepatitis in 1990s (4.1 fold). Of the anti-HCV patients 38 had a history of IDU, 43 were migrants and 10 were both. Anti-HCV prevalence was five times higher than predicted by the passive surveillance scheme and 20% of patients were unaware of their infection. Only one of these patients reported IDU. The evidence of HCV intersecting epidemics between developing and developed countries in Australia was strongly supported. The study provides a rational basis for targeted programs to identify asymptomatic HCV carriers who might benefit from the new antiviral treatment. | High | [
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There are many, many books written that attempt to explain judicial decision making, from a variety of theoretical viewpoints. What Epstein, Landes and Posner attempt to do, in The Behavior of Federal Judges, is integrate much of it into a treatise on federal judicial decision making from an economic perspective. Using data from all levels of federal courts (i.e., the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. District Courts) and considering political science and legal research on various aspects of decision making, Epstein, Landes and Posner make the overarching point, via careful empirical inquiry, that judges make policy and are influenced by their ideology, but that is decidedly not the end of the story. Rather, judges are also workers, seeking leisure and promotion and good relations with their colleagues, superiors, and audiences, just like other workers, and that not all judges, not even all federal judges, behave in exactly the same ways. There is much here to commend to readers, especially those unfamiliar with the political science research on judicial behavior, and their overall theme – that neither law nor ideology alone explain judicial behavior – is well substantiated. I detail the contributions they make, along with my analysis of them, below. One obvious contribution of the book is the breadth of political science and legal scholarship discussed and analyzed. They carefully situate their rational choice perspective on decision making within the larger political science and legal academic literature such that one comes away with an enhanced understanding of the contributions and limitations of much of what has been written so far on the behavior of federal judges. A second contribution is the aforementioned focus on all federal courts rather than on just one. Even with increased attention to the Courts of Appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court remains the most frequent target of scholarly attention, and very few analyses attempt to study more than one level of the federal courts simultaneously. Their tripartite focus shows in stark relief what we suspect to be true: Ideology is differentially influential as one travels up the hierarchy, with District Court decisions least influenced by ideology and Supreme Court decisions most ideologically-driven. Of course, it is unclear whether that effect is driven by a selection effect (different cases) or an institutional effect (different motivations borne of different institutional designs). The analysis tracking the same cases as they travel up the pipeline (see Table 5.13) seems to suggest the institutional effect, though the authors continue to [*313] expect that case selection matters as well. And, the study generally demonstrates the operation of institutional differences among the courts via its focus on a labor-market model of judicial behavior. Ambition, for example, is influential on the decision making of lower federal judges, and not Supreme Court justices. In a novel analysis, the authors find that “auditioners” (i.e., Courts of Appeals judges that, due to their characteristics, have the best chance of being promoted to the Supreme Court) – similar to elected judges, actually – alter their behavior in criminal cases, voting more often against defendants in capital cases. (The District Court analysis is not as convincing, given data issues.) A desire for work-place harmony and effort aversion matters to circuit court judges, sitting in rotating panels of three and hearing a mandatory (and large) caseload. They find a “conformity effect” for circuit judges (i.e., that as the proportion of judges in the circuit becomes more Republican, decisions are more likely to be conservative); while I wonder whether there is a real desire to conform or instead some sort of attempt to avoid or consider reversal en banc (an idea they do entertain in Chapter 6 on dissents), their finding of a significant ideological influence that is, nonetheless, weaker than that found at the Supreme Court level, confirms theoretical expectations. Interestingly, as the authors point out, these findings all have ramifications for the usefulness of the voting record of Courts of Appeals judge for predicting voting on the Supreme Court. As they show in Chapter 6 on dissents, many of the circuit-judges-turned-Justices were significantly less likely to vote ideologically while on the circuit court than they did once elevated to the Supreme Court. In studying the District Courts, Epstein, Landes, and Posner raise the fascinating idea of a “paradox of discretion,” owing to their confirmation that the Courts of Appeals are deferential to the decisions made by the District Courts (often due to legally-binding standards of review). They argue that a paradox is created because the more deferential (legally-driven) the Courts of Appeals are, the more room District Court judges have to make decisions based on their ideology. Their analysis does not find evidence, however, that District Court judges in deferential circuits are more ideological, though the possibility of reverse causality (i.e., that circuits facing ideological district court judges are less deferential than circuits facing non-ideological District Court judges) seems possible here. Overall, the authors find a modest ideological influence on District Court decisions and some evidence of effort aversion and reversal avoidance. Studying the District Courts is difficult due to the paucity of data, so the analysis here is at the district level and not at the likely preferable individual-judge level. The book makes several other substantial contributions. Epstein, Landes and Posner conduct a couple of Supreme-Court-only analyses, modeling unanimity (often ignored by attitudinalists) and oral argument questioning (relied upon by many to predict decision outcome). They find that cases without dissent in the lower court, cases with intercircuit conflicts, non-civil liberties cases, cases that reverse the lower court, and cases involving judicial power – in other words, cases wherein the ideological [*314] stakes are arguably not high – are more likely to be decided unanimously (and ideology matters very little to their decision). (Their take on conflict cases – that they are not ideologically-charged but are rather cases that the Court feels obligated to take – is not one I had considered.) Casting questioning at oral argument variously as a substitute for deliberation, as a means of filibustering good arguments (a neat idea), and as expression having its own utility, they find that questions are good predictors of votes. It is unfortunate that these analyses cannot be extended to the other levels of the federal judiciary, consistent with their tri-level focus (and the oral argument chapter, on its own, is a bit of an uncomfortable fit with the rest of the book). In addition, they do a lot of data work and make all of their data sets available via Epstein's website . While I would be interested in a more in-depth discussion of the “corrections” they made to the major courts databases (which essentially involved moving certain cases out of an ideological classification and into an unclassifiable one), it is a huge service to scholars to offer up the fruits of their labor so freely. They also create a new measure of ideology before appointment for all judges (and make this database available as well), using biographical and other information available at the time of the appointment to categorize judges as strongly conservative, moderately conservative, moderately liberal, and strongly liberal. They demonstrate the validity of their measure by compiling it for Supreme Court justices and comparing their scores with extant measures, but we are not given enough information about the construction of the measure to completely evaluate its utility. (What kind of information is relied upon, from which sources? Are any ideologically biased? Is there variation in the amount of information available across judges?) And, the categorical nature of the variable is disappointing (as are all instances of data reduction in the book). Finally, they end with a chapter full of future research ideas about which many graduate students in political science will likely get very excited (and should!), including studying the influence of judicial staff on decision making, the use of plain meaning analysis as a time-saver, and the hierarchical ramifications of the Supreme Court’s diminishing caseload, among many others. Overall, this is a solid piece of research, much of it original to the book, and it ought to be quite useful in convincing those still holding onto the legal model of decision making that it is just not supported by the evidence. Indeed, that audience – presumably those in the legal academy, practicing lawyers, and maybe even the judges themselves – have the most to gain from the book. There are things here, as well, to challenge the ideology-only school of judicial decision making, though much of that evidence is at the lower court level where not even the true believers negate the influence of forces other than ideology. Treating the judge as a worker is a new conceptualization with much face validity and it leads to some interesting analyses attempting to uncover leisure-seeking, promotion-seeking, and conformity-seeking behavior, even if [*315] some of that evidence is not particularly surprising and some it is debatable. In the end, it is unclear how much we really gain via the labor-market model. But it is unmistakable that this book is a fantastic synthesis of what we know about federal judges, complete with original tests of some important gaps in our knowledge, placed into the context of the federal judiciary writ large through the lens of realism. The authors assert that “this book is the fullest statistical study of judicial behavior of which we are aware (and the only one, we believe, to consider all three levels of the federal judiciary and their interactions to be thoroughly grounded in a realistic conception of judicial incentives and constraints)” (p.387). I can go along with that. | High | [
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Glaucoma Surgery What is Glaucoma? Glaucoma is a disease that damages the eye’s optic nerve. It can cause blindness if left untreated, though only about half of the estimated three million Americans who have glaucoma know they are affected. Glaucoma generally produces few early symptoms and the disease progresses slowly. Overview While glaucoma is often treated with medicated eye drops, sometimes surgery becomes necessary. We perform selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT), a procedure that uses a low-level energy laser to target specific cells in the trabecular meshwork, the eye’s drainage channels. This stimulates the eye’s draining function, easing the buildup of pressure from fluid. What to Expect Glaucoma surgery is an outpatient procedure that generally requires one follow-up exam. The doctor will put eye drops in the eyes before or after the procedure to decrease fluid and prevent elevation in pressure. A special microscope and lens will guide the laser beam to the canals where fluid drains. The doctor will then make small burns in the trabecular meshwork. While discomfort is usually minimal, some people will feel a heat sensation in the eye. Complications are rare, but the most common one is an increase in eye pressure. The pressure may be normal after surgery, but it can rise sharply within one to four hours. This can be prevented by using apraclonidine or brimonidine before or after surgery, especially in people with high intraocular pressure. Other complications may include: Inflammation of the colored part of the eye Clouding of the cornea Blockage of the draining angle Pain Decreased vision How to Prepare No preparation is necessary, though mild discomfort may exist temporarily after the procedure. | Mid | [
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Steel on steel311.30.42.30.99.002 Overview Specifications movement Description The OMEGA Speedmaster is one of OMEGA’s most iconic timepieces. Having been a part of all six lunar missions, the legendary Speedmaster is an impressive representation of the brand’s adventurous pioneering spirit. This limited edition Speedmaster Moonwatch “Apollo XVII” commemorates the 40th anniversary of the final lunar mission in December 1972. It features a 925 silver dial embossed with the same design as the Apollo XVII patch. A small seconds dial, 30-minute recorder and 12-hour recorder grace the dial along with a central chronograph hand. The bezel, with its black aluminium tachymetric ring, is mounted on a 42 mm stainless steel case, and is presented on a stainless steel bracelet. At the heart of this chronograph is OMEGA's mechanical calibre 1861, a manual-winding movement. The Speedmaster Moonwatch “Apollo XVII” was produced in an edition limited to 1,972 pieces. Read more close Moonwatch Anniversary Limited Series (1 watch) Features ChronographComplicated watch with a function for measuring short time periods in addition to its function for permanently displaying hours, minutes and seconds. Limited editionA series of watches whose production run is determined in advance of production and limited to a set number. Small secondsA hand on a sub-dial which tracks seconds; typically it completes a full rotation in one minute. TachymeterA tachymeter is an instrument for measuring speed. It is a chronograph with a graduated dial on which speed can be read off in kilometres per hour based on 1000 metres distance. technical data Crystal Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides Case Steel Dial Special Water resistance 5 bar (50 metres / 167 feet) Size Case Diameter: 42 mm movement Caliber: Omega 1861 Famous manual-winding chronograph movement that was worn on the Moon. Rhodium-plated finish. | High | [
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The proposed pilot studies will determine if new multi-gene arrays can be used to detect and categorize changes in gene expression that may be caused by environmental neurotoxicants. How environmental contaminants affect the developing nervous system is a central concern; yet, in many cases, there is relatively little understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which xenobiotics act during development. Exposure to environmental neurotoxicants during critical developmental stages can produce behavioral changes in adult animals. Such behavioral changes could arise due to neurotoxicant interference with one or more of the large number of molecular and cellular processes required for successful development of the nervous system. Though there have been successes, it remains a daunting and expensive task to test how every xenobiotic of concern might affect each step in neural development. Many of these stages of development, however, share a requirement for highly regulated changes in gene expression. Given this central role of regulated gene expression in development, I propose that many neurotoxicants will alter patterns of gene expression in the developing nervous system. Further, I propose that DNA gene arrays and computational methods can be used to identify and categorize changes in gene expression patterns induced by neurotoxicants. The experiments are designed to produce the initial results needed to test these ideas. The specific aims are to: (i) Use multi-gene arrays to measure levels of mRNAs encoding greater than 1000 identified genes in embryonic nervous system cells grown in the absence or presence of selected xenobiotics, and (ii) Use computational methods to identify functionally-related groups of genes with expression patterns that are altered by xenobiotic exposure. Our pilot studies will determine if such changes in expression can be detected and used to generate hypotheses about potential links between neurotoxicant-induced molecular changes and changes in later behavior. | High | [
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Monday, August 24, 2015 On August 20, 2015 at approximately 10:00 p.m. the Thomaston Police responded to 105 Third Street in the City limits of Thomaston in reference to a juvenile male with a gunshot wound to the head. The juvenile was transported to Upson Regional Medical Center and later air lifted to Macon Medical Center in critical condition. On Saturday August 22, 2015 the juvenile was pronounced dead by the on staff medical doctor while in Macon GA at the Macon Medical Center with an autopsy pending with the GBI Crime Lab. Evidence will show that Christopher Len Jones, 17 of Thomaston who lived at 105 Third Street in Thomaston was in possession of a stolen .45 cal Taurus handgun and was pointing it around the room and while pointing the gun at his brother the trigger was pulled striking the victim in the head. Statements that were given by witnesses that were inside the bedroom during this incident are consistent that the brothers were playing with each other with this weapon and that this act was not intentional. Christopher Len Jones has been charged with Involuntary Manslaughter, Aggravated Assault, Tampering with Evidence, 2 Counts entering Auto and Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Crime Atravius Lee Mizell, 17 of Thomaston was also charged with Two Counts of entering Auto in connection to this case as well. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Gwyn family as they mourn the loss of this young man. Certain cases in this community affect some but when a child’s life is lost at such a young age it affects us all. Friday, August 21, 2015 ACCORDING TO LT. ANDREW PIPPIN OF THE THOMASTON POLICE DEPARTMENT, A 15 YEAR OLD BLACK MALE WAS TREATED AT THE E.R. AT URMC AND THEN AIR-FLIGHTED TO A MACON HOSPITAL WITH A GUNSHOT WOUND TO THE FOREHEAD FROM A 45 CALIBER HANDGUN. THE SUSPECTED SHOOTER, THE VICTIM'S OLDER BROTHER, 17 YEAR OLD CHRISTOPHER LYNN JONES OF 105 THIRD STREET, IS BEING HELD IN THE UPSON COUNTY JAIL ON CHARGES OF AGGREVATED ASSAULT. JONES SAID HE POINTED THE PISTOL AT HIS YOUNGER BROTHER AND IT WENT OFF. LT. PIPPIN TOLD HOMETOWN RADIO NEWS, ANOTHER TEEN IN THE BEDROOM, ATRAVIUS MOZELL IS ALSO IN JAIL ON THEFT CHARGES FOR STEALING THE HANDGUN DURING A CAR BREAK-IN AUGUST 19TH. FIVE YOUTHS, ONE A FEMALE JUVENILE , WERE IN A BEDROOM SMOKING MARIJUANA, WHEN THE HORSE PLAY STARTED WITH THE HANDGUN , ACCORDING TO LT. PIPPIN. NO ADULTS WERE AT HOME. GEORGIA'S GOVERNOR NATHAN DEAL MADE A STOP IN THOMASTON, TUESDAY, TO SPEAK TO LOCAL CIVIC CLUBS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS .HOMETOWN RADIO WILL AIR HIS REMARKS SUNDAY, AUGUST 23RD AT 6;15AM. HOMETOWN RADIO'S DAVE PIPER ASKED THE GOVERNOR IF HE HAS ENDORSED ANYONE IN THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL RACE. GOVERNOR DEAL TOLD US HE HAS NOT CHOSEN A CANDIDATE, BUT HE IS ACQUAINTED WITH ALL THE GOVERNORS AND EX-GOVS WHO ARE RUNNING. ASKED IF A GOVERNOR IS A BETTER FIT TO RUN THE COUNTRY, GOVERNOR DEAL RESPONDED, GOVERNORS ARE REQUIRED TO MAKE EXECUTIVE DECISIONS ON A DAILY BASIS LIKE THE PRESIDENT, AND THAT EXPERIENCE WOULD TRANSLATE WELL IN THE WHITE HOUSE. COUNTY MANAGER JIM WHEELESS SAID UNLESS PROPERTY VALUES WERE RAISED, TAX PAYERS SHOULD NOT SEE AN INCREASE IN THEIR TAX BILL. THE COUNTY TAX DIGEST CONTINUES TO ERODE, DOWN $30 MILLION OVER LAST YEAR, A DROP OF OVER 5%. UPSON COUNTY TAX COMMISSIONER BERRY COOK SAID THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE HAS GRANTED AN EXTENSION ON SUBMITTING THE TAX DIGEST, BASED ON REVALUATION OF RURAL LAND BY THE TAX ASSESSORS OFFICE. IT MEANS TAX BILLS WILL GO OUT LATER THAN THE USUAL NOVEMBER 15TH. One of the most important items on Tuesday night’s agenda was to set the tentative mill rate for 2015. The Board heard from Kathy Matthews, Director of Finance, who reported that the Upson County tax digest shows a decrease in property tax values for 2015, which will result in a decrease in property tax revenue to the school district. Mrs. Matthews outlined the options available to the BOE. Even with the decrease in revenue to the school district, Superintendent Dr. Maggie Shook recommended that the Board of Education maintain the current mill rate of 15.38. Dr. Shook cited the fact that more than 85% of Upson County voters had supported the recent ESPLOST. “I believe we can tighten our belts a little and absorb this decrease in tax revenue. The community has shown their support for the school system by overwhelmingly passing the ESPLOST, and this is our opportunity to show our appreciation to the voters.” The BOE accepted Dr. Shook’s recommendation and voted unanimously to set the tentative mill rate at 15.38. The final vote for the mill rate will occur on Sept. 3 at 8 a.m. in the boardroom of Central Office. Friday, August 7, 2015 AT TUESDAY’S MEETING—THOMASTON CITY MANAGER PATRICK COMISKEY SAID THE LOW BID FROM TOMMY GIBSON BUILDERS OF WARNER ROBINS WAS $930,000. HE SAID THE RISING COST OF MATERIALS APPARENTLY CAUSED THE INCREASE. THE WORK INCLUDES A PAVILION, BOAT HOUSE AND RESTROOMS AT LAKE THOMASTON AND $200,000 FOR A PAVILION AND RESTROOMS AT PARK STREET. Monday, August 3, 2015 UPSON COUNTY SHERIFF DAN KILGORE SAID A BLACK MALE ENTERED THE STORE JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT, WALKED BEHIND THE COUNTER AND POINTED A PISTOL AT THE FEMALE CLERK. HE ORDERED HER TO OPEN THE CASH REGISTER AND DROP THE SAFE. SHE INFORMED HIM SHE COULD NOT OPEN THE SAFE. HE TOOK ABOUT $150 FROM THE REGISTER AND LEFT ON FOOT. SHERIFF KILGORE DESCRIBED THE SUSPECT AS A BLACK MALE 5-7 TO 5-11, 250 POUNDS WEARING A BLUE KNIT CAP AND A BLUE BANDANA OVER HIS FACE, ALL BLACK CLOTHING, AND WHITE SNEAKERS. ANYONE WITH INFORMATION ABOUT THIS CASE SHOULD CONTACT THE UPSON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE. | Mid | [
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Have you seen a charming donkey like this one? Unique charming design combines with Chinese dramatics, perfect gift for artists and animal lovers. Our donkey soft enamel pins are made of high quality alloy, handmade painted dripping oil coating. The Logo "GS-JJ" is stamped on the back of each pin. Includes one military butterfly clutches. Each pin comes with a matching card, wrapped in hang hole poly bag. It is a great collector's item for all pin fanatics and animal lovers. You are guaranteed cheap price, excellent quality products, and free shipping when you order enamel pins from GS-JJ. Contact us freely if any questions! | Mid | [
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Q: Use of ellipses at the end of a passage My actual passage is a bit involved, but I've had this come up a few times over the years, and I've never resolved the issue. So I'll give a generic passage. I posted this question on ELU but didn't get very far. Mars, the Red Planet. But to the Romans, he was the God of War! Herein lies the story [?] Imagine this as a prologue or at the end of a prologue. A period doesn't seem right. If I use ellipses, three dots or four? If four, ... ., ...., or . ...? A: An ellipsis is always three dots. However, when used at the end of a sentence, a period is also used, meaning that the ellipsis appears to have four dots. There appears to be different standard formats for the spacing between the period and the ellipsis depending on what it is being used for, whether you are referencing a quote for example. Unless you wanted to research the different standards, I would say simply choose one standard and be consistent with it. As for when using an ellipsis is appropriate, in creative writing I tend to use it for when something is supposed to be left unfinished, such as a trailing thought. Your example, I would say, constitutes an appropriate usage, as the sentiment behind the sentence is unfinished, with the story following on from it. | Mid | [
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Category: Health Tips Discover all the things you want to lead a wholesome life with our Health & Fitness magazines. This fun little training system often called the velocity bag, is something that many boxers, martial artists, bodily health fanatics, etc., take pleasure in utilizing. I’ve owned one up to now and although I enjoyed using it now and again, I could not help but think how overrated this factor was. I mean, in a thumbnail, the speed bag is usually promoted for growing your punching pace and stamina whereas additionally enhancing your eye-to-hand coordination. Some advertisers typically tout that any such workout by some means builds up your upper body energy , which is a miraculous joke, by the best way. About: A brand new blogger, Nikki’s attempting to achieve wellness and wholesome residing, however what she’s actually finest at is getting product freebies and reviewing them so you realize what works (and what would not) in the case of weight reduction, fitness, beauty, you identify it. Nikki’s blog is loaded to the tee with useful product critiques, however she’s also not shy about sharing her personal personal journey in the direction of wellness either. Practical and emotional. We adore it. Alyssa suffers from multiple food allergic reactions and she has spent plenty of time growing a healthy and balanced food regimen for her family. Whereas she is a self-proclaimed quinoa-loving girl”, her blog does provide all kinds of recipes for you to try. Discover everything it is advisable lead a healthy life with our Health & Fitness magazines. Hello loves! So there may be one struggle I’ve in the case of the vacations and it is this: I feel like I am purchasing and looking for presents for such a wide range of people in my life which have so many alternative likes and interests, that generally discovering the suitable presents for every particular person can appear overwhelming. W may well be a very good proxy, as a result of it is a measure that is notably delicate to visceral physique fat mass, an essential dimension of body fats mass. W likely captures variations in visceral physique fats mass on the levels the place this kind of physique fats accumulation appears to cause health issues. My weblog is about artwork, vogue, life-style and politics. I am aiming to write a column in The Times. Aiming high. After the surgery, try to sleep in a reclined position to ensure wholesome blood circulation to your body. And since this may be troublesome to do, a recliner may turn out to be useful for the aim. 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We talked about healthy consuming and exercise, they encouraged me to just come and test it out, and see what it’s about. I noticed what my mates appeared like so I knew it labored for them. About: Sure, that is one other one with plenty of followers, however it really is the perfect for one group: mother. As an instance you’re a mom. We’ll wager discovering time to exercise and eat wholesome appears rattling near unattainable, sure? Then Brooke’s weblog is for you. It’s armed to the tee with quick health routines, straightforward-to-make recipes, heck, even stuff you are able to do together with your child. And if that’s not enough, you can also use it as a go-to useful resource to get the skinny on things like baby names, connecting together with your family members and activities to do with the kiddos. I was excited to get the opportunity to strive the latest product from Real Good Foods. 1. 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Schwarzenegger also made headlines by promoting apparel along with his new catchphrase: Include me if you wish to raise.” He says he wants to inspire a brand new era of people to be healthy and claims the movement begins with a t-shirt, but we have but to listen to about next steps. About: Emma’s running a blog personality is emphasised in her blog identify. She’s a health and health junkie who uses her own life experiences to encourage others. For Emma, fitness is a release, and she desires it to be … Read More Even once I was a young lady, I all the time looked up to the NPC fashions. Yeah, I had started a blog recently and never getting a lot traffic, If somebody wish to tell what’s fallacious with my weblog, please do comment. Nowadays, sustaining a steadiness with our busy existence may be fairly difficult. The quality of meals, a wide range of diets and dietary supplements might be overwhelming. Utilizing healthy body mechanics to do issues that benefit others makes daily life into built-in physical, emotional, social, and environmental well being. About Blog – The Greatest Pre Exercise Supplements and Supplement Opinions. Check out Evaluations and Comparisons on all the perfect exercise supplements! Get solid advice on bodybuilding supplements earlier than you go to the store. My spouse and I are literally looking to begin a weblog about our journey to construct our dream home. We simply bought 6 acres of land and have started to chronicle the process of clearing the land, and so on. I feel I can supply a novel perspective since I’ll be designing and building the house (with somewhat help in fact). There may be additionally Another the good place for bloggers is You’ll find what other bloggers are posting in your area of interest. You may also contact them to checklist your weblog free of charge so as to add more traffic. Mark Sisson-writer of the mega-bestseller The Primal Blueprint-unveils his groundbreaking ketogenic eating regimen plan that resets your metabolism in 21 days … Read More | Low | [
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Auto rickshaw driver held for assaulting woman home guard An auto-rickshaw driver was taken into custody for allegedly assaulting a woman home guard when asked to move his vehicle from a no-parking area near Dombivli railway station in Maharashtra's Bhiwandi. Identified as Sunita Nandmehar, the official was regulating traffic in the afternoon when she noticed the rickshaw at a spot where parking was restricted. When asked the auto driver to take the vehicle ahead, he got into an argument and later pushed her causing serious injuries on her hand and leg. | Low | [
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using System; using System.Collections.Generic; using System.Linq; using System.Text; using System.Threading.Tasks; namespace GerberLibrary.Core.Primitives { public class GCodeCommand { public int errors = 0; public string originalline; public void Decode(string D, GerberNumberFormat GNF) { originalline = D; int idx = 0; string numberstring = ""; while (idx < D.Length) { if (char.IsLetter(D[idx])) { if (numberstring.Length > 0) { string[] r = numberstring.Split(','); try { for (int i = 0; i < r.Length; i++) { double N = 0; if (Gerber.TryParseDouble(r[i], out N)) { numbercommands.Add(N); } } } catch (Exception) { Console.WriteLine("failed to parse {0}", numberstring); errors++; } numberstring = ""; } charcommands.Add(D[idx]); } else { if (char.IsNumber(D[idx]) || D[idx] == '-' || D[idx] == '.' || D[idx] == ',') numberstring += D[idx]; else { charcommands.Add(D[idx]); } } idx++; } if (numberstring.Length > 0) { string[] r = numberstring.Split(','); try { for (int i = 0; i < r.Length; i++) { double N; if (Gerber.TryParseDouble(r[i], out N)) { numbercommands.Add(N); } } } catch (Exception) { Console.WriteLine("failed to parse {0}", numberstring); errors++; } } } public List<char> charcommands = new List<char>(); public List<double> numbercommands = new List<double>(); public void Print() { Console.Write("chars: "); for (int i = 0; i < charcommands.Count; i++) { Console.Write(charcommands[i].ToString() + " "); } Console.WriteLine(""); Console.Write("numbers: "); for (int i = 0; i < numbercommands.Count; i++) { Console.Write(numbercommands[i].ToString() + " "); } Console.WriteLine(""); } internal double GetNumber(char p) { for (int i = 0; i < charcommands.Count; i++) { if (charcommands[i] == p) { return numbercommands[i]; } } return 0; } }; } | Low | [
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Lean run was inevitable, says Virat Kohli Kohli crossed the 50-run mark for the first time in more than six months during the third ODI against England. Mohali, (IANS): Virat Kohli, back amongst the runs with a fine 50 in Ranchi, feels the No.3 position in the batting order is best suited to him and he would like to carry on playing in the top-order. "No.3 has been working fine for me. I wouldn't know too much about the lower order because I haven't batted too much there. I sort of like the pressure situation going in at three. And I like to finish off games as well. So, it gives me the right platform to do the job for the team, which I like to do," Kohli said on the eve of the fourth One-Day International against England. Kohli crossed the 50-run mark for the first time in more than six months during the third ODI against England. It is important for the Delhi batsman to score as he is one of the main candidates to lead the side in the future. Looking back at his lean run, Kohli said: "There is always a balance in international cricket where you will get a phase where you won't score in four-five games and you've just got to keep yourself calm at that point of time because you know it is going to happen at some point or the other." "You can't keep scoring in every game for a period of over 16 months to 18 months; so I was pretty calm at that point of time. For me, it is all about working hard in the nets regularly and just staying calm and staying patient. If you get frustrated, you sort of tend to increase that kind of lean phase that you are going through. You got to be positive, which I was and I am glad I was able to come out with that knock in the last game." India are leading 2-1 in the series and given the extreme cold conditions expected in Dharamsala for the fifth and final ODI, Kohli said they would want to wrap up the series on Wednesday. "The next game is really very important. We have to step up and put up a consistent show tomorrow. It's not certain that we can have a game in Dharamsala, so this becomes all the more important tomorrow. So, we have to gear up and stay relaxed and prepare well and hopefully have a nice match." | Mid | [
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NAME ppdhtml - cups html summary generator SYNOPSIS ppdhtml [ -D name[=value] ] [ -I include-directory ] source-file DESCRIPTION ppdhtml reads a driver information file and produces a HTML summary page that lists all of the drivers in a file and the supported options. The -D option sets the named variable for use in the source file. It is equivalent to using the #define directive in the source file. The -I option specifies an alternate include directory; multiple -I options can be supplied to add additional directories. | Low | [
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Talking about movies, movies, movies. I believe movies are one of the best pleasures in life. Nothing better than watching a classic film and talking with others about them. Love the classics the most but will also talk about the newer stuff too. And covering all genres: comedy, action, horror, sci-fi, drama, musicals, etc. Will also discuss TV shows, more of the classics, but occasionally the newer stuff too. And anything else that might be on my mind. Feel free to drop by and have a chat. SIMPLY CAROLE CAROLE LOMBARD - My Favorite Actress Thursday, July 8, 2010 Be My Guest - Tracy (Gilby 37) Part 2 Here is the second part to my be my guest series with this month's guest blogger Tracy (Gilby 37). Tracy writes the terrific blog: http://randomramblingofabroadwayfilmtvfan.blogspot.com/ as well as What We're Watching on TV which I contribute to as well. My first classic movie experience is hard to pinpoint. You see I grew up in a house with a father who was a HUGE fan of classic films. My mom also watched old movies and to this day she loves classic TV (try prying her away from Hawaii Five-O or Mannix DVDs when she's watching them!) Dad was a big lover of Bette Davis so my earliest memories are of Bette -- in particular, The Private Lives of Elizabeth & Essex always sticks out in my mind as one of the first great "old" movies I saw and loved. Ironically, my mom says it was one of the movies she remembers watching while pregnant with me! [So maybe that was my first experience] I was also very lucky because every Sunday my mom took me to the matinee -- often it was a Disney re-release. As you can see, it is not surprising I have a love of classic movies. I have happy memories of watching The Wizard of Oz every year with my parents -- it was an event in the age before DVRs and DVDs. I also remember the first time Gone With The Wind was shown on TV. It was on NBC over two nights -- needless to say that was what we were watching in the Gilbert household in November of 1976. My fondest memory of sharing a classic with my siblings was watching The Poseidon Adventure every year on TV. To this day, my brother Donn will dare people not to cry when Shelley Winters sacrifices herself for the good of the group.Granted, The Poseidon Adventure may not be a classic to everyone, but I love this All Star Disaster film which to me was one of the most perfectly cast ensembles of all time. I can't pick just one favorite movie. I have a favorite "feel good" movie, a favorite "chick" flick, and a favorite "Hollywood at its best." My favorite feel good movie is The Trouble with Angels starring Rosalind Russell and Hayley Mills. This film was a wonderful coming of age movie as well as great comedy. I also loved the way Ida Lupino directed the film -- she managed to give equal time to her established star and the rising star. Lupino was highly underrated and watching the sensitive way she handled the stars and material indicates how skillful she was. My favorite chick flick is Now, Voyager. To me, it is Bette Davis' great moment as tender character. Charlotte Vale was not the typical role Davis played. However, her poignant depiction of a spinster tranformed by friendship and love remains my favorite portrayal. In lesser hands, the final line of the film could have been laughable -- that God Bette delivered "Oh, Jerry, let's don't ask for the moon. We have the stars." Finally, to me, Casablanca represents the ideal Hollywood classic. It is a movie that is wonderfully cast and stands the test of time. Is a romance? Yes -- but more importantly it is a story of truth. Each of the main characters discovers his/her own truth during the course of the film. Rick realizes he and Ilsa are not destined to live "happily ever after." Ilsa recognizes her genuine love for Rick but necessity to remain with Victor. Victor is not naive, I honestly believe he understands Rick's sacrifce and love for Ilsa. Last, but not least, Captain Renault discovers he can not be a stooge in the Vichy regime and goes off with Rick at the film's end. For me, the casting was outstanding, everyone fit his/her role to a tee. In addition, I still get a little teary eyed when La Marseillaise is sung by the patrons in Rick's Cafe. Rick allows Victor Laslo to lead the band and Laslo's courage inspires his fellow patrons to sing along and drown out the German officers who are singing their anthem. They don't make movies like that anymore. I loved all your responses Tracy. The Wizard of Oz and Gone With The Wind were yearly favorites as my house too growing up. You're the second guest of mine to have chosen Bette Davis as their favorite actor/actresses. And I loved your reasoning behind Casablanca. Good stuff Tracy. | Mid | [
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Q: How can i execute the following code using pycurl curl https://api.smartsheet.com/1.1/sheets -H "Authorization: Bearer 26lhbngfsybdayabz6afrc6dcd" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -X POST -d @test.json A: If you are new to coding, then don't use pycurl it is generally considered obsolete. Instead use requests which can be installed with pip install requests. Here is how to do the equivalent with requests: import requests with open('test.json') as data: headers = {'Authorization': 'Bearer 26lhbngfsybdayabz6afrc6dcd' 'Content-Type' : 'application/json'} r = requests.post('https://api.smartsheet.com/1.1/sheets', headers=headers, data=data) print r.json If you must use pycurl I suggest that you start reading here. Generally it would be done by this (untested) code: import pycurl with open('test.json') as json: data = json.read() c = pycurl.Curl() c.setopt(pycurl.URL, 'https://api.smartsheet.com/1.1/sheets') c.setopt(pycurl.POST, 1) c.setopt(pycurl.POSTFIELDS, data) c.setopt(pycurl.HTTPHEADER, ['Authorization: Bearer 26lhbngfsybdayabz6afrc6dcd', 'Content-Type: application/json']) c.perform() This shows that requests is far more elegant. | Mid | [
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554 N.W.2d 17 (1996) 218 Mich. App. 54 Leonardo MARTINO and Trans One II, Inc., a Michigan corporation, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. COTTMAN TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS, INC., a Pennsylvania corporation, Defendant-Appellant, and Michigan Bell Telephone Company, a Michigan corporation, Defendant. METRO DISTRIBUTING, INC., d/b/a A-1 Transmissions of Livonia, Ernest Iafrate, Gail Iafrate, Viper Transmissions, Inc., Richard Hamilton, Mark Culbertson, T.G.I.W., Inc., Robert L. Reimer, J.P. 1, Inc., James Dillon, Jim Dixon Enterprises, Inc., d/b/a A-1 Transmissions of Westland, Jim Dixon, G.G.S., Inc., d/b/a A-1 Transmissions, Jim Gregory, Bodnar, Inc., Anthony A. Bodnar, Tri Continental Petroleum, Tim Gaul, J.B.S. Enterprises, Inc., Philip V. Vermiglio, G. & I. Enterprises, Inc., Milton Green, and Michigan Bell Telephone Company, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. COTTMAN TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS, INC., a Pennsylvania corporation, Defendant-Appellant. Docket Nos. 167208, 170567. Court of Appeals of Michigan. Submitted May 17, 1996, at Detroit. Decided July 30, 1996, at 9:10 a.m. Released for Publication September 27, 1996. *19 Rosati Associates, P.C. by A.D. Rosati, West Bloomfield, for plaintiffs. Dykema Gossett by Fred L. Woodworth and Thomas M. Pastore, Detroit, for defendant. Before: TAYLOR, P.J., and MARILYN J. KELLY and J.R. COOPER,[*] JJ. *18 MARILYN J. KELLY, Judge. Defendant Cottman Transmission Systems, Inc. appeals from grants of partial summary disposition for plaintiffs in two cases, consolidated on appeal. Cottman asserts that plaintiff Leonardo Martino's action for rescission is barred by res judicata, because a prior Pennsylvania judgment should be given full faith and credit by Michigan courts. It argues that plaintiffs Martino and Trans One II, Inc., failed to state a cause of action for rescission under M.C.L. § 445.1531; M.S.A. § 19.854(31), because Pennsylvania rather than Michigan law controls the franchise agreement. Cottman asserts that plaintiffs have unclean hands which bar their claim for rescission. Finally, it alleges that issues of material fact remain unresolved, precluding summary disposition. We affirm in part and remand for further findings. I Cottman is a Pennsylvania corporation which licenses automotive transmission service centers in various states. Due to financial problems, Cottman and A-1 Transmissions entered into an agreement where Cottman would offer existing A-1 franchisees the opportunity to convert to Cottman Transmission franchises. The converted franchises would operate as A-1/Cottman Transmission Centers. Cottman also agreed to manage all franchise services on behalf of A-1 for franchisees who opted not to convert. Upon signing the agreement with A-1 Transmissions, Cottman held meetings with the A-1 franchisees. Cottman provided plaintiffs with a modified Uniform Transmission Offering Circular, but did not give them a separate Michigan Circular. Plaintiffs converted to an A-1/Cottman franchise. In December, 1991, Cottman allegedly discovered that Martino was underreporting his gross sales and defrauding Cottman of licensing and advertising fees. On March 3, 1992, Cottman filed a lawsuit against Martino in Pennsylvania for breach of the franchise contract. Instead of responding to the complaint, Martino filed this action for rescission. He claimed that Cottman failed to provide proper notice that certain of its contract's provisions are void and unenforceable under Michigan law, as required by M.C.L. § 445.1508(3); M.S.A. § 19.854(8)(3). Meanwhile, a default judgment was entered against Martino in the Pennsylvania action. In this case, the trial court granted Martino's motion for summary disposition, holding Cottman failed to comply with M.C.L. § 445.1508(3); M.S.A. § 19.854(8)(3) and M.C.L. § 445.1531(2); M.S.A. § 19.854(31)(2). It granted plaintiffs' request for a rescission. II We review a trial court's grant of summary disposition de novo examining the *20 record to determine whether the prevailing party was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. G & A Inc. v. Nahra, 204 Mich.App. 329, 330, 514 N.W.2d 255 (1994). Defendant argues that res judicata bars Martino's action for rescission. The doctrine of res judicata is applied broadly. It includes issues which the parties sought to have adjudicated as well as "every point which properly belonged to the subject of litigation, and which the parties, exercising reasonable diligence, might have brought forward at that time." Van Pembrook v. Zero Mfg. Co., 146 Mich.App. 87, 100-101, 380 N.W.2d 60 (1985). Cottman instituted the Pennsylvania action for breach of the franchise contract. It alleged that Martino was systematically underreporting his gross sales and defrauding Cottman. The cause of action in Michigan seeks rescission of the franchise agreement for Cottman's failure to provide proper notice as required by the Michigan Franchise Investment Law (MFIL), M.C.L. § 445.1501 et seq.; M.S.A. § 19.854(1) et seq. A different set of proofs is required for each of the two causes. Moreover, the subject matter is different. As a consequence, res judicata does not bar plaintiffs' claim for rescission. Van Pembrook, supra at 101, 380 N.W.2d 60. Nor does plaintiffs' failure to raise rescission as a counterclaim to the Pennsylvania complaint bar this action. The full faith and credit clause of the federal Constitution requires that judgments be given the same full faith and credit in every court within the United States as they have by law or usage in the courts of such State from which they are taken. U.S. Const., art. IV, § 1. Its purpose is to prevent the litigation of issues in one state that have already been decided in another. Van Pembrook, supra at 104, 380 N.W.2d 60. Were the issue before us the enforcement of the Pennsylvania judgment, we would conclude that the judgment must be enforced. Int'l Recovery Systems, Inc. v. Gabler (On Rehearing), 210 Mich.App. 422, 424, 527 N.W.2d 20 (1995). However, the issue before us today, notwithstanding the Pennsylvania judgment, is whether plaintiffs are nevertheless entitled to rescission. We find that the full faith and credit clause in conjunction with res judicata does not preclude plaintiffs' action for rescission. Plaintiffs' rescission claim is grounded in Michigan's franchise statute. Pennsylvania's laws contain no analogous right. Therefore, because the Pennsylvania court did not apply Michigan law in deciding the breach of contract action, plaintiffs could not have raised Michigan's statutory remedy of rescission. In effect, plaintiffs would have to forfeit the claim. The full faith and credit clause does not compel such a result. See Van Pembrook, supra at 104-105, 380 N.W.2d 60. The dissent argues that plaintiffs could have brought a fraud claim in Pennsylvania or attempted to change venue to Michigan. However, the issue before us today is not what could have been done differently in Pennsylvania, but rather, whether plaintiffs' rescission claim is barred. The hypotheticals posed by the dissent are irrelevant to the issue before us. Finally, we must determine whether Pennsylvania's, rather than Michigan's, franchise laws should be given effect out of comity. We are hesitant to overrule Michigan law where the laws of another state would contravene Michigan's public policy. The public policy of this state is fixed by its constitution, its statutes and the decisions of its courts. Van Pembrook, supra at 105, 380 N.W.2d 60. The MFIL has deemed that certain contractual provisions are void and unenforceable as between franchisors and franchisees. M.C.L. § 445.1508(1) and (3); M.S.A. § 19.854(8)(1) and (3). The provisions are found in M.C.L. § 445.1527; M.S.A. § 19.854(27). Included is the requirement that, at least ten business days before executing a franchise agreement, the franchisor must notify the prospective franchisee of contractual provisions which the statute renders unenforceable. Pennsylvania law contains no such requirement. If we were to apply Pennsylvania's law in ruling on this Michigan case, we would effectively override Michigan's law. The effect *21 would be to abrogate plaintiffs' right to rescind. We find that Pennsylvania law should not be given preclusive effect where it would nullify the law of this state as expressed in the MFIL. III Alternatively, defendant argues that Pennsylvania law must be followed, because the franchise agreement stated that Pennsylvania law controlled the franchise agreement. In a similar situation, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that, when determining the applicable law, we are required to balance the expectations of the parties with the interests of the States. Chrysler Corp. v. Skyline Industrial Services, Inc., 448 Mich. 113, 125, 528 N.W.2d 698 (1995). In doing so, the Court adopted, as guidelines, §§ 187 and 188 of the Second Restatement of Conflicts. Section 187(1) permits the application of the parties' choice of law if the issue is one the parties could have resolved by an express contractual provision. However, there are two exceptions. The parties' choice of law will not be followed if (1) the chosen state has no substantial relationship to the parties or the transaction, or (2) there is no reasonable basis for choosing that state's law. Section 187(2)(a). Also, § 187(2)(b) bars the application of the chosen state's law when it "would be contrary to the fundamental policy of a state which has a materially greater interest than the chosen state in the determination of the particular issue, and which, under the rule of § 188, would be the state of the applicable law in the absence of an effective choice of law by the parties." Here, we find compelling evidence that, in this state, Michigan has a materially greater interest than Pennsylvania in applying its franchise laws. A fundamental policy may be embodied in a statute which (1) makes one or more kinds of contracts illegal or (2) which is designed to protect a person against the oppressive use of superior bargaining power. Comment g to § 187 of the Restatement 2d, p. 568. As gleaned from the MFIL, Michigan's notice requirements are designed to make certain contract provisions illegal and to protect potential franchisees from the superior bargaining power of franchisors. Applying Pennsylvania, rather than Michigan, law would result in a substantial loss of protection provided by the MFIL. As franchisors under Pennsylvania law do not have to provide the notice required by the MFIL, Pennsylvania's franchise law violates the fundamental public policy of Michigan. Therefore, Michigan law, not Pennsylvania law, applies. IV Cottman asserts that, if Michigan law applies, plaintiffs' claim for rescission is foreclosed by their own unclean hands and material breach of the franchise agreement. We find that no language in the statute suggests that the fact a franchisee's hands are unclean is considered in deciding whether to allow rescission. Moreover, in Interstate Automatic Transmission Co., Inc. v. Harvey[1] this Court allowed rescission even though the franchisee was being sued for failure to pay royalties in violation of the franchise agreement. We did not require that the franchisee have clean hands before allowing rescission. We will not impose the requirement of clean hands on a franchisee where the MFIL gives a franchisee an unqualified right to rescission upon a franchisor's violation of the MFIL. The dissent relies on Stanton v. Dachille[2] for the proposition that "absent express legislative instruction to the contrary, a trial court should not grant rescission unless the party requesting it is blameless." However, Stanton does not stand for that proposition. Stanton involves a generic contract case. It does not mention the absence of legislative instruction. It does not involve a situation, such as is present here, where rescission is a remedy afforded by statute. *22 V Even so, Cottman argues that there are genuine issues of material fact as to whether plaintiffs have established a claim for rescission, precluding summary disposition. Cottman argues that a factual question exists concerning whether this was a sale or the voluntary transfer of a franchise. The MFIL provides an exemption from its notice requirements where "(t)here is an extension or renewal of an existing franchise or the exchange or substitution of a modified or amended franchise agreement where there is no interruption in the operation of the franchise business of the franchisee, and no material change in the franchise relationship." M.C.L. § 445.1506(1)(e); M.S.A. § 19.854(6)(1)(e). Here, the evidence showed that the A-1 franchise was terminated, and a new agreement was negotiated and signed. The identity of the franchisor changed. We find that no reasonable person could conclude that a material change did not occur in the relationship. VI Next, defendant argues that a material question of fact existed as to whether plaintiffs waited unduly before seeking rescission. In Interstate, supra, we allowed rescission, even though two years had passed. We ruled that the franchisor was entitled to recover the fair value of benefits provided to the franchisee during the time the agreement was in place. In this case, we find that any delay on plaintiffs' part in seeking rescission did not create a genuine issue of material fact. VII Finally, Cottman argues that a question of fact exists as to whether Cottman was returned to the status quo ante. Following the trial court's grant of summary disposition for plaintiffs on the issue of rescission, it ordered that Cottman be returned to its existing state before the contract. At the August 14, 1992 hearing, the trial court directed the parties to submit proposed orders detailing the amounts owed to Cottman by plaintiffs, in order to properly effectuate the pre-contract status quo. Although orders were submitted, the final disposition of the issue is unclear. Therefore, we remand this matter to the trial court with the direction that it return Cottman to the status quo ante. Interstate Automatic Transmission Co., supra at 502-503, 350 N.W.2d 907. Affirmed in part and remanded. We do not retain jurisdiction. J.R. COOPER, J., concurred. TAYLOR, Presiding Judge (dissenting). I respectfully dissent. While the majority pays lip service to the fact that the Pennsylvania judgment is entitled to full faith and credit under the federal constitution, its holding deprives the Pennsylvania judgment of the full faith and credit to which it is entitled. Under the Full Faith and Credit Clause, Michigan courts are barred from considering matters previously determined in a court of another state. Jones v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., 202 Mich.App. 393, 406, 509 N.W.2d 829 (1993). This constitutional provision also requires Michigan courts to give res judicata effect to the judgments of the court of the other state. Id. After correctly recognizing that Michigan applies the doctrine of res judicata broadly, the majority declines to do so and holds that the Pennsylvania judgment is not entitled to res judicata effect with respect to plaintiffs' rescission actions. The reason advanced for this by the majority is that the Pennsylvania lawsuit and the Michigan lawsuits involve different subject matters and different sets of proof. I disagree. With regard to this distinction between the Pennsylvania action and the Michigan actions that the majority urges, it is well to recall that defendant's five-count Pennsylvania complaint alleged: (1) fraud; (2) breach of contractfailure to deal fairly and honestly; (3) breach of contractunauthorized advertising; (4) breach of contractlicense fees owed; and (5) entitlement to attorney fees and collection expenses under the franchise contract. *23 It is apparent these Pennsylvania claims are founded upon the validity, and alleged breach, of the parties' franchise contract. Plaintiffs' Michigan lawsuits were premised on a claim that the franchise contract was invalid for failure to include certain statutorily required warnings, and they sought rescission as allowed by the Michigan Franchise Investment Law (MFIL), M.C.L. § 445.1501 et seq.; M.S.A. § 19.854(1) et seq. The Michigan lawsuit clearly also tests the validity of the contract. The lawsuits filed in each state concern the same subject: the validity of the franchise contract and its enforceability. It would seem that even under a narrow application of the res judicata doctrine, to say nothing of a broad rule, that these would be considered the same subject matter. Under such circumstances, plaintiffs' Michigan lawsuits constitute an improper attempt to collaterally attack the validity of the contract that the Pennsylvania judgment found to be valid. Northern Ohio Bank v. Ket Associates, Inc., 74 Mich.App. 286, 290, 253 N.W.2d 734 (1977); Peters Production, Inc. v. Desnick Broadcasting Co., 171 Mich.App. 283, 286, 429 N.W.2d 654 (1988). Further, even if there were elements in the Michigan lawsuits that were not found in the Pennsylvania lawsuit pleadings, this would not prevent the finding of res judicata. The United States Supreme Court stated as follows in Federated Dep't Stores, Inc. v. Moitie, 452 U.S. 394, 398, 101 S.Ct. 2424, 2428, 69 L.Ed.2d 103 (1981): A final judgment on the merits of an action precludes the parties or their privies from relitigating issues that were or could have been raised in that action. Commissioner v. Sunnen, 333 US 591, 597, 68 SCt 715, 719, 92 LEd 898 (1948); Cromwell v. County of Sac, 94 US 351, 352-353, 24 LEd 195 (1877). Nor are the res judicata consequences of a final, unappealed judgment on the merits altered by the fact that the judgment may have been wrong or rested on a legal principle subsequently overruled in another case. [Emphasis added.] The question, then, becomes whether plaintiffs' rescission claim could have been raised in the Pennsylvania action.[1] The majority argues that plaintiffs could not have raised their rescission claim in the Pennsylvania action because the rescission claim is grounded in Michigan's franchise statute and Pennsylvania has no analogous provision. First, it must be noted that the parties' contract contains a clause stating that Pennsylvania law would apply. While the MFIL forbids forum selection clauses, it does not forbid choice of law clauses. Banek Inc. v. Yogurt Ventures U.S.A., Inc., 6 F.3d 357, 360 (C.A.6, 1993). Thus, it is argued that plaintiffs forfeited their Michigan statutory remedy of rescission when they signed their franchise agreements. This is true, of course, unless application of the foreign state's law will violate some fundamental Michigan public policy. Banek, supra; JRT, Inc. v. TCBY Systems, Inc., 52 F.3d 734, 739 (C.A.8, 1995). We need not, however, grapple with the issue whether application of Pennsylvania law would violate a specific Michigan public policy because application of Pennsylvania law would not change the outcome required by Michigan law. The reason is that plaintiff Martino admits he did not have a valid rescission claim in Pennsylvania and, as explained below, his unclean hands should preclude rescission under Michigan law. Second, plaintiffs could have argued that defendant's failure to provide notice that certain contract clauses were void and unenforceable under Michigan law constituted fraud or a fraudulent misrepresentation under Pennsylvania law. See Cottman Transmission Systems, Inc. v. Melody, 869 F.Supp. 1180 (E.D.Pa.1994), where a Pennsylvania judge compared a franchisee's rights under the California franchise statutes and under Pennsylvania law and concluded application of Pennsylvania law did not cause a substantial erosion of the protections provided by the California franchise statutes because the protections and remedies provided under Pennsylvania law were substantially the same. Further, plaintiffs *24 could have brought a motion to change venue to Michigan under the doctrine of forum non conveniens with relation to the Pennsylvania action. Such a motion is recognized in Pennsylvania. See 42 Pa.Cons.Stat.Ann. § 5322(e). If the Pennsylvania court granted such a motion, plaintiffs could have asserted in a Michigan court (as they did below) their claim that they were entitled to rescission. As the disposition in the lower court and before this panel shows, they might well have been successful. In sum, on the basis of the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the federal constitution considered in conjunction with the doctrine of res judicata, I would reverse the trial court's granting of rescission in plaintiffs' favor and remand for entry of a judgment in defendant's favor. I therefore believe it is not necessary to reach the other issues discussed by the majority. However, since the majority has discussed them, I offer the following additional comments. The majority also states that the MFIL gives a franchisee an unqualified right to rescission upon a franchisor's violation of the MFIL even if the franchisee has unclean hands or has materially breached the franchisee agreement. I disagree. While the majority's conclusion in this regard appears to be supported by some language in Interstate Automatic Transmission Co., Inc. v. Harvey, 134 Mich.App. 498, 350 N.W.2d 907 (1984), I would not follow this part of the Interstate Automatic case because it is not clear that the issue of equitable defenses was raised by the parties or focused upon by the Court. Further, even if I were to assume the case so held, I would not follow it because it would represent bad law that we are not bound to follow as precedent. Administrative Order No. 1996-4. The idea that rescission can be awarded to those with unclean hands, which is what the majority has decided, is a novel and disturbing notion, and the fact one panel of this Court may have implied as much, should not cause us to reach the same misbegotten conclusion again. Indeed, the majority's conclusion is directly contrary to Kundel v. Portz, 301 Mich. 195, 210, 3 N.W.2d 61 (1942), which unremarkably stated that "rescission, whether legal or equitable, is governed by equitable principles." Moreover, the majority's conclusion is not mandated by the language of the MFIL. At issue here is the portion of the MFIL that states that a person who sells a franchise in violation of certain sections of the MFIL is liable to the person purchasing the franchise for damages or rescission. M.C.L. § 445.1531(1); M.S.A. § 19.854(31)(1). The majority states that it can find no language in the statute suggesting that a franchisee's unclean hands are a factor in deciding whether to grant rescission. While the statute does not expressly mention defenses, this is not only not unusual, but the reverse would be. Repeatedly in our statutes equitable remedies are referred to without recitation of allowable defenses. It is assumed, and always has been, that the statutes will be applied in accord with common law understandings and case law explanations that those familiar with these terms of art are held to understand. Indeed, the majority itself proves the pervasiveness of this understanding by utilizing this approach when it requires the return to the status quo ante notwithstanding the fact that the statute omits any reference to such an equitable requisite. Under the majority's logic, the statute's omission of the need to return the parties to the status quo ante should foreclose such a requirement. There is no good reason why the venerable rules regarding rescission should not apply here. As a general matter, a party may seek to rescind a contract, on the basis of fraud, mistake, or innocent misrepresentation. 5A Callaghan's Civil Jurisprudence, Contracts, § 255, Right to Renounce or Rescind, pp 348-349. In order to warrant rescission, there must be a material breach affecting a substantial or essential part of a contract. Holtzlander v. Brownell, 182 Mich.App. 716, 721, 453 N.W.2d 295 (1990). I would hold that the Legislature's statement that rescission may be had if a franchisor violates certain sections of the MFIL was intended (1) to inform the courts that failure to have the required language would be a suitable new reason for granting rescission in *25 addition to the previously recognized standards of fraud, mistake, and innocent misrepresentation, and (2) to cut short any claim that omission of these terms was not a material breach affecting a substantial or essential part of the contract. In no event, however, did the Legislature mean to foreclose recognized defenses to a rescission request. Inclusion of the term "rescission" in the statute does not grant a franchisee an absolute right to rescission without consideration of the franchisee's conduct. As in all equitable matters, a trial court should not grant rescission unless the party requesting it is blameless. Stanton v. Dachille, 186 Mich.App. 247, 260, 463 N.W.2d 479 (1990). A party that has breached a contract (as the trial court found Martino had in the case at bar) is not entitled to rescission. Id. Further, to put an even finer point upon this issue in the context of this case, rescission is not available to a party that has failed to make payments required by a contract. Miller v. Smith, 276 Mich. 372, 375, 267 N.W. 862 (1936). If the Legislature wished to foreclose equitable defenses, it could have stated as much in the MFIL. Therefore, even if the Pennsylvania judgment was not entitled to full faith and credit and res judicata effect (which it is), I would find, on the basis of plaintiff's unclean hands and material breach of the contract that the trial court erred in granting rescission to plaintiffs. I would reverse the orders of the trial court and remand for entry of summary disposition in defendant's favor and for consideration of defendant's request for injunctive relief enforcing the post-termination provisions of the franchise contract. NOTES [*] Circuit Judge, sitting on the Court of Appeals by assignment. [1] 134 Mich.App. 498, 350 N.W.2d 907 (1984). [2] 186 Mich.App. 247, 463 N.W.2d 479 (1990). [1] Thus, the majority's assertion that the issue is not what could have been done differently in Pennsylvania is patently erroneous. | Low | [
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Effects of antinuclear autoantibodies on RNA polymerase. DNA-dependent RNA polymerase was partially purified from wheat germ extract and tested for inhibition by antinuclear autoantibodies from the sera of patients with connective tissue diseases. The enzyme was inhibited by anti-DNA and by autoantibodies to the nuclear ribonucleoprotein nRNP. Autoantibodies to other ribonucleoproteins (Sm, Ro, La) did not cause inhibition. The enzyme preparation was shown to contain material with Ro and La antigenic activity but there was no nRNP or Sm detectable by immune precipitation. Previous work [3] has shown inhibition of prokaryotic (E. coli) RNA polymerase by anti-DNA, and our results show that the eukaryotic enzyme, in this case from wheat germ, is also inhibited. The results are consistent with the suggestion that inhibition by anti-DNA is due to template masking. Inhibition of RNA polymerase by antibodies to cellular ribonucleoprotein suggests that the antigen is in some way associated with the activity of the enzyme. | Mid | [
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Jasc - Paint Shop ProPaint Shop Pro is a complete, easy to use software for producing good digital imaging results. Combining automatic and precision tools with an integrated learning system, Paint Shop Pro helps you produce professional results with power an ease. This affordable graphic program does not have the precision or power and quality of the well know Photoshop. Hyperionics - Hyper SnapScreen capture and image editing tool for Windows. Captures screens from standard desktop programs and hard-to-grab DirectX/Direct3D, Voodoo and Glide mode games. This program can auto-scroll and concurrently capture long web pages and other documents, enabling it to grab more than is visible on the screen. It Can also resize and capture entire windows much bigger than the screen on Windows XP. The program integrates with the Windows clipboard, and has new painting and editing features too. 99 Fraps99This Benchmarking software has frame rates on screen or log them to file. Calculate the averaging frame rate between any two points of time. Screen capture screen shots at the press of a button and it automatically places a name and time stamping. Movie maker software can record real time in your favorite game to a high quality AVI video file for out of game viewing.FREEWARE BEST MODEL Software SitesHere is a good size archive of available websites containing some of the most sought after modeling software. These sites are among the best in the world when talking about 3D Designing. Some sites have free trials, Shareware and Freeware to download so that you don't have to empty your savings account to try them. If your into this type of graphic dimension then take a look at our collection. Descriptions follow the available software company banners in full.3D MODELING SOFTWARE Cacheman is a useful utility designed to help improve the performance of computer by optimizing the disk cache, memory and a huge number of other settings. Cacheman is able to prevent frequent paging to the hard disk, resulting in improved performance, system reaction time and stability. Wizards and predefined profiles make it suitable for novices and yet it is also powerful and versatile enough for the more experienced user. Cacheman also corrects generic problems on systems with more than 512MB RAM.REGISTERED Online Game Painting and Game File Painting Graphics Tutorial Lessons A Basic Learn How Tutorial for Beginners or Pro's The Graphic programs in the far left column, particularly Adobe Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro will be the main directive in this painting tutorial. If you do not have either one of these programs then we suggest trying the Free Trial for Paint Shop Pro. If you have another choice of programs be sure it has alpha masking and layering abilities. Most of your graphic programs available today have the same basic concept and format which makes them pretty much relative to each other. The tools and the tool names are 9 times out of 10 exactly the same across the board. The only changes between each program would be the tools detail precision and the general location of each tool. The best way to get better is using one or maybe two graphic programs. Stick with them and try to use the full benefits of each tool. There are over 50 ways to accomplish any idea you may have, the best way is your own. If you make a mistake, don't sweat it. Just mouse up to that command that comes with almost ever program. Video Monitor AdjustmentsIf you would like to calibrate your video monitors gamma or color, try by clicking the linked icon below. Be sure to follow close directions. If you feel the slightest unsure then skip this step completely. Most graphic programs have their own simple gamma/color adjusters. This pertains usually just to the programs settings. The calibration below is more of a global adjustment for your video monitor and if done correctly will make a definite improvement overall. Monitors display colors by exciting phosphors to produce red, green, and blue light. Because these phosphors do not excite equally, they can produce distortions in the brightness, contrast, and color balance of images. For an example, if a computer reads the lightness value from a photographic image and sends it directly to your monitor, the displayed color will be dimmer than the original photograph. To compensate for this non-linearity of phosphor excitation, you can alter the color values sent to your monitor. Use the Monitor Gamma Adjustment to adjust the values. VIDEO DISPLAY CALIBRATE PLEASE NOTE: Adjusting Displays- Do Not Confuse These Settings with DIRECT3D or GLIDE Game Settings. | Low | [
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// // ZPLSuggestion.m // Autocomplete // // Created by Yigitcan Yurtsever on 29.06.2018. // Copyright © 2018 Zeplin, Inc. // // Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy // of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal // in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights // to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell // copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is // furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: // // The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all // copies or substantial portions of the Software. // // THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR // IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, // FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE // AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER // LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, // OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE // SOFTWARE. // #import "ZPLSuggestion.h" @implementation ZPLSuggestion - (instancetype)initWithEmoji:(ZPLEmoji *)emoji alias:(NSString *)alias { self = [super init]; if (!self) { return nil; } _emoji = emoji; _alias = [alias copy]; return self; } @end | Low | [
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Louis Tobback Louis Marie Joseph Tobback (born 3 May 1938) is a Belgian politician. Tobback is a Flemish social democrat and member of the political party SP.A. He was the mayor of Leuven (1995–2018) He graduated in Romance philology at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He is the father of Bruno Tobback, the former president of the Flemish socialist party Different Socialist Party (SP.A). Political career He started his political career in 1965 in the OCMW/CPAS council. In 1971 he was elected a member of the city council of Leuven, and became eerste schepen (first alderman). In 1974, he became the leader of the Belgian Socialist Party faction in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, and became a controversial but respected politician. Tobback is known for his oneliners in which he clearly states his opinion. From 1988 until 1994, Tobback was Belgium's Minister of the Interior in two coalitions formed by Christian Democrats and Socialists, who faced the tough task of bringin Belgium into compliance with the Maastricht Treaty. It was known that he liked cooperating with Jean-Luc Dehaene, who was Prime Minister from 1992 until 1999. In 1994 he became president of the Flemish social-democratic party (SP, since 2001 known as Socialistische Partij Anders, SP.A). At that time, the party faced difficulties due to the Agusta scandal in which several Flemish and Francophone Socialists were accused of corruption. Despite this, the party did not lose too many votes in the federal and regional elections in 1995. As president of the SP, he also started a campaign of ideological and organisational innovation within the party. In 1995, Tobback also became the mayor of Leuven, and he was granted the title of Minister of State in recognition of his work in politics. He was re-elected as mayor in 2000, 2006 and 2012 and retired on 31 December 2018. In April 1998, he again became Minister of the Interior, after Johan Vande Lanotte (also SP.A) resigned because of the escape of Marc Dutroux during his transport from jail to the court hall. In September 1998, Tobback himself resigned after a Nigerian candidate for immigration (Semira Adamu) died during her forced repatriation. Tobback is a self-declared Orangist. He considers the break-up of the Netherlands and Belgium a historic mistake. "If the United Kingdom of the Netherlands would have endured, we would have been a member of the G8 today", Tobback said in 2006. Honours 1995: Grand Officer in the Order of Leopold. 2003: Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Leopold II. Gallery References Sources Louis Tobback Louis Tobback (Elections 2006) External links Category:Socialistische Partij Anders politicians Category:1938 births Category:Living people Category:Flemish politicians Category:People from Leuven Category:Belgian socialists Category:Mayors of places in Belgium Category:Belgian Ministers of State Category:Free University of Brussels alumni Category:Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II | High | [
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Myanmar Rice Federation The Myanmar Rice Federation () is Burma's national organisation for the rice industry, responsible for negotiating rice export deals with neighbouring countries, including China and India. History Myanmar Rice Federation was formed in 2012 as a successor to the Myanmar Rice Industry Association (MIRA). In July 2017, the MRF partnered with the Chinese group CITIC to conduct a feasibility study regarding the implementation of 33 agricultural business centres in Myanmar. In September 2017, the organization's website was briefly hacked as a protest to the Rohingya conflict. Between 2010 and 2012, Myanmar rice exports to China grew from very little to 752,000 tonnes. In 2014, the two country signed their first legal agreement to organize their rice trade. In March 2015, the MRF was criticized for its limited shortlist of rice producers allowed to export rice to China. In early August 2015, the MRF announced the halt of rice exports for a month and a half due to the heavy flood affecting the country. In April 2016, the MRF urged the new Myanmar government to privatize the Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank to increase its loan capacity. Myanmar Rice Federation organized the MRF Stakeholder Forum 2018, held in Naypyidaw on 7 March 2018. The MRF Forum was officiated and graced by Myanmar’s State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The MRF announced the Floor Rice for paddy in the interest of small-holder farmers. Description MRF is responsible for negotiating rice export deals with neighbouring countries, including China and India. Myanmar exports more than 1 million tonnes of rice to 50 countries, and 70% of its exports go to China (numbers April 2016-January 2017). MRF's executive committee is chaired by Chit Khaing. References External links Official website Category:Trade associations based in Myanmar Category:Rice organizations Category:Agricultural organisations based in Myanmar Category:Organizations established in 2012 Category:2012 establishments in Myanmar | Mid | [
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The ultrastructure of Penicillium chrysogenum in the course of benzyl-penicillin biosynthesis. The find structures of high- and low-yield mutants of Penicillium chrysogenum, producing 100 and 10,000 units/ml of penicillin G, were compared. The cells of both mutants demonstrated a typical eukaryotic ultrastructure. In the cytoplasm nuclei, mitochondira, lipid bodies, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi vesicles were observed. In the cells of high-yield mutant, during the biosynthesis of penicillin, the number of lipid bodies decreased. It is possible that the lipids are metabolized in the process of biosynthesis of penicillin. In the cytoplasm more multivesicular bodies and small vesicles, about 40 nm in diameter, could be seen. These Golgi vesicles, present in largest number in cells of high-yield mutant, fuse with the cell membrane and play an important role in the transport of penicillin from the cytoplasm to the cell environment. The cell walls of the high-yield mutant become three times thicker during the antibiotic biosynthesis. No comparable changes were observed in the ultrastructure of the low-yield mutant. The cell wall thickness did not increase, the cytoplasm contained few Golgi vesicles only, and the lipid bodies can be seen in all cells. | High | [
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There are several ways to brighten your smile, ranging from over-the-counter whitening toothpastes, to chair side ZOOM! Whitening, to major cosmetic enhancements, and we can provide them all. Just click the blue appointment button to schedule a visit, and we can help you get liked more – not just on Instagram, but maybe even in real life! I've been seeing Dr. Sako and staff for about a year now and they are hands down THE BEST. They have it all - expertise, professionalism, positive energy, progressive technology, warm customer service, a sense of humor and a creative ambiance. Rashi W. Dr. Taline is absolutely great! I definitely trust her knowledge and experience. Highly recommend her and her practice. MAD A. Love love LOVE! For the first time in my life I can safely say I enjoy going to the dentist. Stephanie E. You are in good hands with Dr. Sako. You will know from the minute you walk in that he is not only a dentist, but ultimately an artist. He is truly one of a kind... | High | [
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Ten-year Single Center Experience of Pulmonary Carcinoid Tumors and Diagnostic Yield of Bronchoscopic Biopsy. Bronchoscopic biopsy of pulmonary carcinoid tumors has been controversial, and no study to date is dedicated to investigate diagnostic yield or safety. We reviewed our single center experience with pulmonary carcinoid tumors over a 10-year time period and assessed the diagnostic yield and safety of bronchoscopic biopsy of these tumors. A retrospective analysis was conducted of all bronchopulmonary carcinoid tumors from January 2003 through January 2014 for patients treated at or referred to our tertiary care facility, including patient and tumor characteristics, diagnostic yield, and complications of bronchoscopy. Forty-nine patients with bronchopulmonary carcinoid tumors were identified. 75.5 % of our patients were female, and the median age was 60.7 years. 85.7 % patients were white, and 53.1 % were smokers. 83.7 % had typical carcinoid tumors or tumorlets, and 85.7 % had centrally located tumors. The median tumor size was 2.0 cm. Thirty patients underwent bronchoscopy for diagnostic evaluation. 76.7 % were diagnosed via bronchoscopic biopsy. Bronchoscopic yield was calculated at 65.7 % yield, and two complications of moderate to severe bleeding occurred with no emergent thoracotomies, transfusions, or deaths. No other complications occurred from bronchoscopy. The diagnosis of pulmonary carcinoid tumors via bronchoscopic biopsy is safe and effective, and bronchoscopy is recommended as the initial diagnostic modality for these tumors. | High | [
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Simply Hammocks Simply Hammocks features the largest collection of quality, affordable hammocks on the web. Two-tier affiliate program pays 10% on the first tier and 20% of second tier commissions. Submitted by Jon Thralow.. MakeSpace is a national, schlep-free storage company that takes the “self” out of self-storage. We pick up for free, store, and redeliver our customers’ things so they never have to visit a storage unit again. Once their items arrive in our secure storage facility, we create a photo catalogue of all their items, so they can get anything they want delivered back to them with a click on their MakeSpace account. MakeSpace adds convenience, transparency, and affordability to an industry that has traditionally been anything but. Many of our customers use MakeSpace during their moves, when they have a child and need to free up some space, or to store their seasonal clothes and gear. Apply to join our affiliate program on ShareASale and start earning commission referring the #1-consumer rated storage company in NYC on Yelp. Floots are proud to launch the UK’s first range of affordable cardboard furniture. Our furniture isn’t just another conceptual visual that couldn’t be engineered. It’s been under development for over two years and has been designed, prototyped, modified, perfected and tested. Only once we were 100% satisfied with our finished products did we proceed to full scale, final production. Silk Bedding Direct specialize in silk-filled duvets (filled with silk as opposed to feathers, wool, etc) for the high-end market yet providing them at mid-range prices. Silk-filled duvets help delay skin aging, nourish hair, are a natural relaxant, self-regulate temperature, are hypoallergenic (no bed bugs or microscopic life) and require very little cleaning. They are also the most comfortable type of bedding and 100% natural… Lime Tree Kids is one of Australia’s largest and most popular online kids and parenting lifestyle stores. We are the go-to online store for Australian mums, dads and grandparents who are looking for unique, stylish and fun products for their kids and themselves. Lime Tree Kids is all about making life stylishly easy for grownups by showcasing products that are one-of-a-kind. Fraimz are the hot new way to display photos, signs, notes, messages, etc. on any smooth surface. Thousands of applications make this a hot-selling item in multiple markets. Dry erase features turn any wall or sheet of paper into a dry erase board that wipes clean every time. Hansen Wholesale has now been online for over 15 years and we are proud to say that none of our competitors have been doing business online as long as we have. You can buy from us with confidence because we know what it takes to satisfy our online customers. Our years of experience dealing with online customers from all over the world at both the retail and wholesale level gives us a sharp competitive edge and has helped us grow into one of the single largest suppliers of ceiling fans, lighting, and fireplace decor on the Internet. Drea’ Custom Designs is a premier source for quality designer custom window treatments at competitive prices. You no longer have to settle for limited options of ready made window treatments. There are endless options available which makes it easy to create a breathtaking new look for you home. We offer a large assortment of designer fabrics, trim, and decorative hardware that are exclusive to the design trade. Our catalog has over 300 products. Average order $300 and up. Affiliates earn 12% commission on sales. We’re here to help you succeed, we offer loads of advertising creatives. If you have a unique marketing idea, our graphics team will be happy to design banners to your specifications. At our beginning in 2003, ivgStores was a single site with just 3 of us selling a few hundred products from a dozen suppliers. Since then, we have become one of the leading and fastest growing Internet Retailers with over 472 online stores, tens of thousands of products and hundreds of manufacturing and brand name partners. Still a family run operation, our growth has been fueled by 4 simple principles: good products, good service, good value, and the strength of a family that stands behind it. The GroovBoard is an iPad lap desk and stand hand-made in Germany from a selection of beautiful hardwoods. The GroovBoard is a unique, quality product aimed at the discerning iPad fan for home use for entertainment and work. Affiliates earn 10% commission on sales. We have received psitive reviews from the media and existing customers and offer additional products to increase earning potential. Zanui is Australia’s new online destination for furniture and homewares. We provide consumers with stylish new products for home, inspiration and ideas for home decoration and unmatched customer service. At Zanui, we are committed to offering the highest quality products, the widest product range in Australia and a formidable selection of brands that will transform your home. Decorating your home should be fun and, at Zanui, we know that your shopping experience should be, too. The two-tier affiliate program pays 10%-16% on the first tier plus 5% second tier. Over 50 years of experience led to the formation of Contempo Space with a commited team that recognized the need for sturdy, affordable, modern furniture solutions in a variety of sizes and configurations. These ideas were coupled with available expert delivery and installation to form a company like no other providing modern furniture for the entire home all made right here in the United States in New Jersey. From design, to manufacturing to delivery, Contempo Space is with. you all the way from beginning to end. Affiliates earn 6% commission on sales with an average sale of $1600.. We provide 180 day cookies and a full suite of tools including banners, feeds, customizable product widgets. Whether your innermost emotions are calling out for something modern or classical, simple or elegant, each of us has an authentic need for self-expression. At Lexmod and Sugar Stores our hope is to keep the good products coming so you can prosper amidst the décor and surroundings you rightly deserve. Miracle Canvas sells high-quality canvas prints with rich customization options. A canvas print is an image printed on canvas, stretched on a canvas stretcher, and fully ready for hanging in a room. Canvas prints are quickly becoming a dynamic trend for modern home development, decoration, and design. The most exciting feature about canvas prints is the ability to turn one print into several pieces. We have a powerful online configurator that allows you to create prints of any size and shape, choose a stretcher depth, pick a varnish style, and instantly see the actual price of the canvas print. Modern canvas prints display a high quality image. If, for example, you were to print a reproduction of a painting on canvas, it would be very difficult to distinguish the print from the original − you get a crisp and clean image. We offer an image bank with over 14 million choices, among which you can be sure to find exactly the image you need. Any of our images can be used to create a canvas print. Zanui is Australia’s new online destination for furniture and homewares. We provide consumers with stylish new products for home, inspiration and ideas for home decoration and unmatched customer service. At Zanui, we are committed to offering the highest quality products, the widest product range in Australia and a formidable selection of brands that will transform your home. Decorating your home should be fun and, at Zanui, we know that your shopping experience should be, too. With our seamless and user friendly online shop and our world class customer service team, we ensure that your home decorating experience is easy, enjoyable and inspiring. The two-tier affiliate program pays 15%-20% on the first tier plus 5% second tier. Build.com, Inc., is one of the largest home improvement retailers and an Internet Retailer Top 500 company (No. 80 in 2011). With our 110% low-price guarantee, we are a one-stop destination for selection, price, and excellent customer service. Homemaker Furniture is an authorized retailer of Zuo Brand modern contemporary chairs,tables, lights, and accents. These are elegant household effects. We are proud to provide their aesthetically pleasing, cutting-edge designs. VistaStores.com is an online retailer of home and outdoor decor products. Within a short span of time, the store has gained a reputation of providing best quality products and topnotch customer care services. Making a start with smaller and humble items, the store has been expanded its horizon to a wider range of home and outdoor decor products s over the years. VistaStores believes in building up a strong relationship with its clientele through transparent, trustworthy dealings and first rate services. VistaStores’ products include outdoor umbrellas such as patio umbrellas, market umbrellas, offset umbrellas, and beach umbrellas. Other items consist of home decor items, mainly indoor and outdoor lightings and lighting accessories. Other than these products, the store keeps an exclusive collection of bar stools, cabinets, carts, benches, hammocks, hanging chairs and so on. VistaStores.com ensures you free shipping, price guarantee, no tax benefits as well as a pleasurable shopping experience. Along with this, you get the best customer care service round the clock. Victor Klassen has been selling high-end designer furniture for over 25 years in several countries around the world. We recently brought our business online and launched an affiliate program, so that even more customers across the Americas can bring our exclusive, artistic furniture into their homes. Affiliate Program Features: $2-$5 per lead High on-site conversion rates 180-day cookies Personalized affiliate control panel 24/7 Realtime Statistics Dedicated affiliate manager High-quality creative material in multiple standard ad sizes Tracking from iDevAffiliate Our exclusive furniture carries a high price tag, so the ideal demographic would be visitors in a high income bracket who own their own homes, and enjoy the finer things in life, including modern art and design. Alternatively, serious art and design aficionados are also a great demographic, whether they are homeowners or not. ATG Stores is one of the largest online home and garden retailers with more than 500 available sites and over 3 million products from more than 1,000 brands. Our product categories include lighting fixtures, furniture, plumbing fixtures, door and cabinet hardware, area rugs, outdoor living products and many more. Customers can choose from trusted brands like Kohler, Kichler, American Standard, Delta, Karastan, Homelegance and hundreds more. Ada and Darcy is about fashionable, fun and stylish home decor. Ada and Darcy offers an extensive range of unique, premium and affordable homewares with a focus on stunning colours and fashion forward designs. We aspire to give our customers a one stop shop for fabulous items such as furniture, cushions, bedding, gifts. Our boutique features custom made cushions, stylish furniture, lamp shades, decorative throw cushions, bedding, scented candles, Moroccan pouffes, ceramic drums, ginger jars, tableware, table cloths, napkins, rugs, bedwear and more. We have sourced our gorgeous products from both Australia and the world to ensure our customers can enjoy the most beautiful products at their finger tips. At present we pay a flat 10% on sales. Sell a Jumbo Caribbean Hammock ($129) and you make $12.90. If your customer comes back to Freaky Tiki within 180 days you get credit for the sell. Every banner and text has your referral code built in. You get paid by check or PayPal the first of every month. We only ship in the USA but anyone anywhere can make money. International shipping will come later FastFireplaces.com is one of the largest retailers of fireplace accessories online. Customers can browse a variety of fireplace products — gas logs, mantels, EcoSmart burners, and more. FastFireplaces.com also features a 110% price match guarantee and free shipping on orders over $100. FastFireplaces Affiliate Program Features: 8% commission on all online sales – average order $500+. Professional and consistently updated selection of creative banners and text links. DandyMats.com is America’s premier choice for doormats. Every home needs a doormat, but our products are not just for the front porch. They’re perfect for garages, kitchens, bathrooms, kid’s rooms, RVs, boating, camping and more. And with unique products like sports team putting mats and floor carpet tiles, there’s something for everyone. Affiliates earn 10% commission on sales. Build your own with our exclusive live-time custom mat-builder. Or choose from the 1000s of officially licensed NFL, NCAA, NBA, NHL and MLB products for home or auto. | Low | [
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Rate-responsive pacing as compared to fixed-rate VVI pacing in patients after ablation of the atrioventricular conduction system. In 44 patients with supraventricular arrhythmias various pacemakers were studied after closed-chest ablation of the atrioventricular conduction system. There were 22 patients with a rate-programmable VVI pacemaker (Group I), 15 patients with an activity mode (ACTIVITRAX 8400) (Group II) and seven patients with a QT-mode pacemaker (QUINTECH 911) (Group III). To study both physical work capacity and heart-rate behaviour, exercise testing was performed using a treadmill. Sixteen patients in Group I (72.7%) complained of shortness of breath during exercise in comparison to four patients (26.7%) in Group II and three patients (42.9%) in Group III. Normal physical work capacity was observed in three of 22 patients (13.6%) in Group I and in all patients in Groups II and III. The heart rate both increased and decreased more rapidly at the onset and end of the stress test, respectively, in patients with activity-mode compared to patients with QT-mode pacing systems. These data show that, despite successful His-bundle ablation, both dyspnea and decreased work capacity are observed when VVI pacemakers are used. In contrast, the use of rate-responsive pacing systems leads to better cardiac performance. | High | [
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--- abstract: 'We study the optimal value function for control problems on Banach spaces that involve both continuous and discrete control decisions. For problems involving semilinear dynamics subject to mixed control inequality constraints, one can show that the optimal value depends locally Lipschitz continuously on perturbations of the initial data and the costs under rather natural assumptions. We prove a similar result for perturbations of the initial data, the constraints and the costs for problems involving linear dynamics, convex costs and convex constraints under a Slater-type constraint qualification. We show by an example that these results are in a sense sharp.' author: - 'Martin Gugat$^\dag$, Falk M. Hante$^\dag$' date: 'December 29, 2016' title: 'Lipschitz Continuity of the Value Function in Mixed-Integer Optimal Control Problems$^*$' --- [^1] Introduction ============ In this paper we address the robustness of solutions to optimal control problems that involve both continuous-valued and discrete-valued control decisions to steer solutions of a differential equation such that an associated cost is minimized. This problem class includes in particular optimal control of switched systems [@Antsaklis2014; @Zuazua2011], but also optimization of systems with coordinated activation of multiple actuators, for example, at different locations in space for certain distributed parameter systems [@IftimeDemetriou2009; @HanteSager2013]. In analogy to mixed-integer programming we call such problems mixed-integer optimal control problems. Algorithms to compute solutions to such problems are discussed in [@Gerdts2006; @Sager2009; @HanteSager2013; @SastryEtAl2013a; @SastryEtAl2013b; @RuefflerHante2016]. From a theoretical point of view, but also for a reliable application of such algorithms, the robustness of the solution with respect to perturbation of data in the problem is essential, for instance, in the case of uncertain initial data. We consider the robustness of the optimal value because this is the criterion determining the control decision. Moreover, we understand robustness in the sense that we consider the regularity of the optimal value as a function of the problem parameters. For continuous optimization problems many sensitivity results are available, see [@bonnansshapiro; @MR2421286]. In particular certain regularity assumptions and constraint qualifications guarantee the continuity of the optimal value function, see [@MR669727; @gu:onesi]. In the context of mixed-integer programming, in general, the main difficulty is that the admissible set consists of several connected components and jumps in the optimal value as function of the problem parameters can occur if due to parameter changes connected components of the feasible set vanish. In mixed-integer linear programming with bounded feasible sets, the continuity of the value function is therefore equivalent to existence of a Slater-point [@Williams1989]. For mixed-integer convex programs, constraint qualifications are given in [@gu97] which yield the existence of one-sided directional derivatives of the value function and hence its Lipschitz continuity. For optimal control problems in general, it is well known that one cannot expect more regularity of the optimal value function than Lipschitz continuity. The following example is an adaption of a classical one saying that this is also true for integer, and hence mixed-integer controlled systems. \[ex:nonsmooth\] For some ${t_\mathrm{f}}>0$ and $\lambda \in {\mathbb{R}}$, consider the problem $$\left.\begin{array}{l} \text{minimize}~y({t_\mathrm{f}})~\text{subject to}\\ \quad \dot{y}(t)=v(t)\,y(t),~\text{for a.\,e.}~t \in (0,{t_\mathrm{f}}),\quad y(0)=\lambda\\ \quad y(t) \in {\mathbb{R}},~v(t) \in \{0,1\}~\text{for a.\,e.}~t \in (0,{t_\mathrm{f}}). \end{array}\right\}$$ The optimal value function $\nu(\lambda)=\inf\{y({t_\mathrm{f}};\lambda) : v \in L^\infty(0,{t_\mathrm{f}};\{0,1\})\}$ can easily be seen to be $$\nu(\lambda)=\begin{cases}e^{{t_\mathrm{f}}}\lambda, &~\lambda<0,\\ \lambda &~\lambda \geq 0, \end{cases}$$ which is Lipschitz continuous, but not differentiable in $\lambda=0$. For semilinear mixed-integer optimal control problems, we show below that for parametric initial data as in the example, local Lipschitz continuity of the optimal value function can indeed be guaranteed for a rather general setting without imposing a Slater-type condition. Similar results are well-known in the classical Banach or Hilbert space case without mixed control constraints [@CannarsaFrankowska1992; @BarbuDaPrato1983]. Further, we analyze parametric control constraints and parametric cost functions for convex programs. For this case, we formulate a Slater-type condition guaranteeing again the local Lipschitz continuity of the optimal value function. Finally, for convex programs, we can combine both results to obtain local Lipschitz continuity jointly for parametric initial data, control constraints and cost functions. Setting and Preliminaries ========================= Let $Y$ be a Banach space, $U$ be a complete metric space, ${\mathcal{V}}$ be a finite set, and $f{\mathcal{\colon}}[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}] \times Y \times U \times {\mathcal{V}}\to Y$. We consider the control system $$\label{eq:controlsys} \dot{y}(t) = A y(t) + f(t,y(t),u(t),v(t)),~t \in (t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}})~\text{a.\,e.},$$ where $[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]$ is a finite time horizon with $t_0<{t_\mathrm{f}}$, $A{\mathcal{\colon}}D(A) \to Y$ is a generator of a strongly continuous semigroup $\{T(t)\}_{t \geq 0}$ of bounded linear operators on $Y$, and where $u{\mathcal{\colon}}[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}] \to U$ and $v{\mathcal{\colon}}[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}] \to {\mathcal{V}}$ are two independent measurable control functions. Throughout the paper we consider the Lebesgue-measure. Our main concern will be the confinement that the control $v$ only takes values from a finite set. Without loss of generality, we may identify ${\mathcal{V}}$ with a set of integers $\{0,1,\ldots,N-1\}$ and, in analogy to mixed-integer programming, we refer to as a *mixed-integer control system*, where $u$ represents ordinary controls and $v$ integer controls. Let ${U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$ be a Banach subspace of measurable ordinary control functions $u{\mathcal{\colon}}[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}] \to U$ and let ${V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$ be the set of measurable integer control functions $v{\mathcal{\colon}}[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}] \to {\mathcal{V}}$. By the assumed finiteness of ${\mathcal{V}}$ we actually have ${V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}=L^\infty(t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}};{\mathcal{V}})$. Let $\Lambda$ be a Banach space and consider subject to a parametric initial condition $$\label{eq:initialcondition} y(t_0)=y_0(\lambda),$$ where $y_0(\lambda)$ is an initial state in $Y$ parametrized by $\lambda \in \Lambda$. The separation of the control in $u$ and $v$ and the inherent integer confinement of the latter control lets us formulate parametric control constraints of the mixed form $$\label{eq:controlrestriction} g_k^v(\lambda,u,t) \leq 0,~k=1,\ldots,M,~t \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]$$ where $M\in{\mathbb{N}}$ and, for every $v \in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$, the functions $g_1^v,\ldots,g_M^v {\mathcal{\colon}}\Lambda \times {U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}\times [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}] \to {\mathbb{R}}$ are given. These constraints can for example model anticipating control restrictions, where a decision represented by $v$ at an earlier time limits control decisions for $u$ at different times. We discuss an example in Section \[sec:example\]. In cases without mixed control constraints, we set $M=0$. \[def:solutionMICP\] For fixed $\lambda \in \Lambda$, let ${W_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}(\lambda)$ denote the set of all admissible controls $$\label{defWT} \begin{aligned} {W_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}(\lambda):=\{&(u,v) \in {U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}\times {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}: \\ &g_k^v(\lambda,u,t) \leq 0,~k=1,\ldots,M,~t \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]\}. \end{aligned}$$ Moreover, we say that $y{\mathcal{\colon}}[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}] \to Y$ is a *solution of the mixed-integer control system* if there exists an admissible pair of controls $(u,v)\in{W_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}(\lambda)$ such that $y \in C([t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}];Y)$ satisfies the integral equation $$\label{eq:controlsysint} y(t) = T(t-t_0)y(t_0) + \int_{t_0}^{t} T(t-s)f(s,y(s),u(s),v(s))\,ds,~t\in[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]$$ and holds. Let ${\mathscr{S}}_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}(\lambda)$ denote the set of all such solutions $y$ defined on $[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]$. For any $y \in {\mathscr{S}}_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}(\lambda)$, we denote by $y=y(\cdot;y_0(\lambda),u,v)$ the dependency of $y$ on $y_0(\lambda)$, $u$ and $v$ if needed. According to Definition \[def:solutionMICP\], ${\mathscr{S}}_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}(\lambda)$ consists of the mild solutions of equation and covers in an abstract sense many evolution problems involving linear partial differential operators [@Pazy1983]. It particular, the mild solutions coincide with the usual concept of weak solutions in case of linear parabolic partial differential equations on reflexive $Y$ with distributed control where $A$ arises from a time-invariant variational problem [@BensoussanDaPratoDelfourMitter1992]. For an example, see Section \[sec:example\]. In conjunction with the mixed-integer control system we consider a cost function $\varphi{\mathcal{\colon}}\Lambda \times C([t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}];Y) \times {U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}\times {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}\to {\mathbb{R}}\cup \{\infty\}$ and define the *mixed-integer optimal control problem* with parameter $\lambda$ as $$\label{eq:miocp} \left.\begin{array}{l} \text{minimize}~\varphi(\lambda,y,u,v) \; \text{subject to}\\ \quad \dot{y}(t) = A \, y(t) + f(t,\,y(t),\, u(t), \, v(t)),\; t \in (t_0,\, {t_\mathrm{f}}) \;{\rm a.e.},\\ \quad y(0)= y_0(\lambda), \\ \quad g_k^v(\lambda,u,t) \leq 0~\text{for all}~t \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}],~k=1,\ldots,M,\\ \quad y \in C([t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}];Y),~u \in {U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}},~v \in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}. \end{array} \right\}$$ We will study the corresponding *optimal value* $\nu(\lambda)\in {\mathbb{R}}\cup \{\pm\infty\}$ given by $$\label{eq:defnu} \begin{array}{l} \nu(\lambda)=\inf \bigl\{\varphi(\lambda,y,u,v) :\\ \quad \dot{y}(t) = A \, y(t) + f(t,\,y(t),\, u(t), \, v(t)),\; t \in (t_0,\, {t_\mathrm{f}}) \;{\rm a.e.},\\ \quad y(0)= y_0(\lambda), \\ \quad g_k^v(\lambda,u,t) \leq 0~\text{for all}~t \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}],~k=1,\ldots,M,\\ \quad y \in C([t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}];Y),~u \in {U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}},~v \in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}\bigr\} \end{array}$$ in its dependency on the parameter $\lambda$. For the mixed-integer control system, we will impose the following assumptions. \[ass:ControlSys\] The map $f{\mathcal{\colon}}[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}] \times Y \times U \times \{v\} \to Y$ is continuous for all $v \in {\mathcal{V}}$. Moreover, there exists a function $k \in L^1(t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}})$ such that for all $(u,v) \in {W_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$, $y_1,y_2 \in Y$ and for almost every $t \in (t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}})$ $$\begin{aligned} {2} &\text{(i)}\qquad &&|f(t,y_1,u(t),v(t))-f(t,y_2,u(t),v(t))| \leq k(t)|y_1 - y_2|\\ &\text{(ii)}\qquad &&|f(t,0,u(t),v(t))| \leq k(t).\end{aligned}$$ In particular, under these assumptions, the integral in is well-defined in the Lebesgue-Bochner sense and from the theory of abstract Cauchy problems [@Pazy1983] we obtain a solution $y$ in $C([0,{t_\mathrm{f}}];Y)$ for all $y_0 \in Y$, $u \in {U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$ and $v \in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$. Moreover, the strong continuity of $T(\cdot)$ and the Gronwall inequality yield the following solution properties. \[lem:bounds\] Under the Assumptions \[ass:ControlSys\], there exist constants $\gamma \geq 0$ and $w_0 \geq 0$ such that for all $\lambda_1,\lambda_2 \in \Lambda$, setting $y_i=y(\cdot;y_0(\lambda_i),u,v)\in{\mathscr{S}}_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}(\lambda_i)$ for $i \in \{1,2\}$, for all $t \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]$ it holds $\|T(t)\| \leq \gamma \exp(w_0(t-t_0 ))$, $$\label{eq:aprioribound} |y_i(t)| \leq C(t) (1+|y_0(\lambda_i)|),\quad i \in \{1,2\},$$ and $$\label{eq:yLipschitz} |y_1(t)-y_2(t))| \leq C(t) |y_0(\lambda_1) - y_0(\lambda_2)|$$ with $C(t)=\gamma\exp\left(w_0 (t-t_0)+\gamma\int_{t_0}^{t}k(s)\,ds\right)$. For the cost function and control constraints, we will impose the following assumptions. \[ass:CostAndConstraints\] The function $\varphi{\mathcal{\colon}}\Lambda \times C([t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}];Y) \times {U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}\times {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}\to {\mathbb{R}}$ is continuous and, for every $v \in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$, the functions $g^v_1,\ldots,g^v_M{\mathcal{\colon}}\Lambda \times {U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}\times [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}] \to {\mathbb{R}}$ are such that the set of admissible controls ${W_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}(\lambda)$ is not empty for all $\lambda \in \Lambda$. In particular, under Assumptions \[ass:ControlSys\] and \[ass:CostAndConstraints\], for every $\lambda \in \Lambda$, the set ${\mathscr{S}}_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}(\lambda)$ is non-empty. Moreover, one obtains local Lipschitz continuity of the value function if the perturbation parameter $\lambda$ acts Lipschitz continuously on $\varphi$ and $y_0$ by similar arguments as in a classical Banach or Hilbert space case [@CannarsaFrankowska1992; @BarbuDaPrato1983]. \[thm:LipInitial\] Under the Assumptions \[ass:ControlSys\] and \[ass:CostAndConstraints\], suppose that the constraint functions $g^v_1,\ldots,g^v_M$ are independent of $\lambda$. Let $\bar\lambda$ be some fixed parameter in $\Lambda$ and assume that for some bounded neighborhood $B(\bar\lambda)$ of $\bar{\lambda}$ and some constant $L_0$ $$\label{eq:y0Lip} |y_0(\lambda_1)-y_0(\lambda_2)| \leq L_{0} \, |\lambda_1- \lambda_2|,\,~\lambda_1, \lambda_2 \in B(\bar\lambda).$$ Moreover, let $K=\sup_{\lambda \in B(\bar\lambda)}|y_0(\lambda)|$ and assume that for some constant $L_{\varphi}$ $$\label{eq:varphiLip} |\varphi(\lambda_1,y,u,v)-\varphi(\lambda_2,\bar y,u,v)| \leq L_{\varphi}(|y-\bar{y}|+|\lambda_1-\lambda_2|)$$ for all $(u,v)\in {W_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$, $y,\bar{y}$ such that $\max\{|y|,|\bar y|\} \leq C({t_\mathrm{f}})(1+K)$ and $\lambda_1$, $\lambda_2 \in B(\bar\lambda)$, where $C(t)$ is the bound from Lemma \[lem:bounds\]. Then there exists a constant $\hat L_\nu$ such that $$\label{eq:nuLipInitial} |\nu(\lambda_1)-\nu({\lambda_2})| \leq \hat L_\nu |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|,\quad~\lambda_1, \lambda_2 \in B(\bar\lambda).$$ Let $\varepsilon>0$ and $\lambda_1$, $\lambda_2 \in B(\bar\lambda)$ be given. Choose $(u_\varepsilon,v_\varepsilon) \in {W_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$ such that $$\varphi(\lambda_2,\bar{y}_\varepsilon,u_\varepsilon,v_\varepsilon) \leq \nu(\lambda_2)+\varepsilon,$$ where $\bar{y}_\varepsilon$ denotes the reference solution $y(\cdot;y_0(\lambda_2),u_\varepsilon,v_\varepsilon)\in{\mathscr{S}}_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}$. Let $y_\varepsilon$ denote the perturbed solution $y(\cdot;y_0(\lambda_1),u_\varepsilon,v_\varepsilon)\in{\mathscr{S}}_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}$. Lemma \[lem:bounds\] and the assumptions yield $$|y_\varepsilon(t)| \leq C(t) (1+K),~t \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}],$$ and $$|y_\varepsilon(t)- \bar{y}_\varepsilon(t)| \leq C(t) L_{0} |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|,~t \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}].$$ Hence, $$\begin{aligned} {1} \varphi(\lambda_1,y_\varepsilon,u_\varepsilon,v_\varepsilon) &\leq \varphi(\lambda_2,\bar y_\varepsilon,u_\varepsilon,v_\varepsilon)+|\varphi(\lambda_1,y_\varepsilon,u_\varepsilon,v_\varepsilon) - \varphi(\lambda_2,\bar y_\varepsilon,u_\varepsilon,v_\varepsilon)|\\ &\leq \varphi(\lambda_2,\bar y_\varepsilon,u_\varepsilon,v_\varepsilon)+L_\varphi (C({t_\mathrm{f}}) L_{0}+1) |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|.\end{aligned}$$ Thus $$\begin{aligned} \nu(\lambda_1) &\leq \varphi(\lambda_1,y_\varepsilon,u_\varepsilon,v_\varepsilon) \leq \varphi(\lambda_2,\bar y_\varepsilon,u_\varepsilon,v_\varepsilon) +L_\varphi (C({t_\mathrm{f}}) L_{0}+1) |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2| \\ &\leq \nu({\lambda_2})+\varepsilon+L_\varphi (C({t_\mathrm{f}}) L_{0}+1) |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|. \end{aligned}$$ Letting $\varepsilon \to 0$ from above gives an upper bound $\nu(\lambda_1) \leq \nu({\lambda_2})+\hat L_\nu |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|$ with $$\label{eq:hatLnudef} \hat L_\nu=L_\varphi (C({t_\mathrm{f}}) L_{0}+1).$$ Interchanging the roles of $\lambda_1$ and $\lambda_2$ yields the claim. In the subsequent section, we will obtain a similar result concerning the perturbation of the functions $g^v_1,\ldots,g^v_M$ and the cost function $\varphi$ under additional structural hypothesis and a constraint qualification. Perturbation of the constraints for convex problems {#sec:constraints} =================================================== In this section, we show that under a Slater-type condition the optimal value $\nu(\lambda)$ of the mixed-integer optimal control problem in the case of a convex cost function and linear dynamics is locally Lipschitz continuous as a function of a parameter $\lambda$ acting on the control constraints $g^v_1,\ldots,g^v_M$ and the cost function $\varphi$. We need the following \[ass:Convex\] The map $(y,u) \mapsto f(t,y,u,v)$ is linear and the map $(y,u) \mapsto \varphi(\lambda,y,u,v)$ is convex. Moreover, the function $\varphi$ is Lipschitz continuous with respect to $\lambda$ in the sense that $$|\varphi(\lambda_1,\, y,\, u,\, v) - \varphi(\lambda_2,\, y,\, u,\, v)| \leq L_\varphi(|y|,\, |u|) \,|\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|$$ with a continuous function $L_\varphi{\mathcal{\colon}}[0,\infty)^2 \rightarrow [0,\,\infty)$. For all $k=1,\ldots,M$, the maps $u \mapsto g_k^v(\lambda,\,u,\, t)$ are convex, the maps $(u,t)\mapsto g_k^v(\lambda,\,u,\, t)$ are continuous and the functions $g^v_k$ are Lipschitz continuous with respect to $\lambda$ in the sense that for all $t \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]$ $$|g_k^v(\lambda_1,\, u,\, t) - g_k^v(\lambda_2,\, u,\, t)| \leq L_g(|u|) \,|\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|$$ with a continuous function $L_g{\mathcal{\colon}}[0,\infty) \rightarrow [0,\,\infty)$. Under the Assumptions \[ass:ControlSys\]–\[ass:Convex\] and assuming that $y_0$ is independent of $\lambda$, we have for each parameter $\lambda \in \Lambda$ the mixed-integer optimal control problem with $y_0(\lambda)$ replaced by a fixed initial state $y_0 \in Y$. Moreover, in this section, $\nu(\lambda)$ denotes the corresponding optimal value function with fixed initial state $y_0$. The subsequent analysis is based upon the presentation in [@gu97], where for the finite dimensional case the existence of the one sided derivatives of the optimal value function $\nu(\lambda)$ is shown. For a generalization to the above setting, we first introduce a Slater-type constraint qualification, a dual problem and prove a strong duality result. [**(CQ)**]{}\[ass:CQ\] For some $\bar \lambda \in \Lambda$ and some bounded neighborhood $B(\bar \lambda)\subset \Lambda$ of $\bar \lambda$ there exists a number $\omega>0$ such that for all $v\in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$ there is a Slater point $\bar u_v \in U$ such that for all $\lambda \in B(\bar \lambda)$ we have $$\label{eq:slaterpoint} g_k^v(\lambda, \bar u_v,t) \leq - \omega\quad\mbox{\rm for all } t \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}],~k=1,\ldots,M,$$ $$\label{30} \sup_{v\in V_{[t_0,\,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}} \sup_{\lambda \in B(\bar \lambda)} \varphi(\lambda,y(\bar u_v,v),\bar u_v,v)<\infty$$ and that there exists a number $\underline \alpha$ such that for all $\lambda \in B(\bar \lambda)$ we have $$\label{31} \nu(\lambda) \geq \underline \alpha$$ and that the set $$\label{coercive} \hspace*{-1em} \begin{aligned} \bigcup_{\lambda_1,\lambda_2 \in B(\bar \lambda)} \biggl\{& (u,v) \in U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}\times {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}:\\ &~\varphi(\lambda_1,y(u,v),u,v) \leq \varphi(\lambda_1,y(\bar u_v,v),\bar u_v,v) + |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|^2,\\ &~g_k^v(\lambda_1,u(t),t) \leq 0,~t \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}],~k=1,\ldots,M\biggr\}=:\bar S(y_0) \end{aligned}$$ is bounded. Note that (\[31\]) holds if $\underline \alpha$ is a lower bound for the cost function. Let $C([t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}])^\ast_+$ denote the set of positive function of bounded variation on $[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]$. For any controls $v \in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$, $u \in {U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$ and any $\mu^\ast \in \left(C([t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}])^\ast_+\right)^M$ we define the Lagrangian $$\label{lagrangian} {\mathcal{L}}_v(\lambda,u,\mu^\ast) = \varphi(\lambda,\,y(u,v),\,u,\, v) + \sum_{k=1}^M \int_{t_0}^{{t_\mathrm{f}}} g_k^v(\lambda,u,s)\,\mathrm{d} \mu^\ast_k(s),$$ where the integral is in the Riemann-Stieltjes sense. Further, we define $$\label{lagrangian1} h_v(\lambda,\mu^\ast) = \inf_{u \in {U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}} {\mathcal{L}}_v(\lambda,u,\mu^\ast).$$ Under the constraint qualification , for all fixed $\lambda \in B(\bar \lambda)$ and $v\in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$, the classical convex duality theory as presented in [@ekturn] implies the strong duality result (see also [@gu:onesi]) $$\label{duality} \sup_{\mu^\ast \in \left(C([t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}])^\ast_+\right)^M} h_v(\lambda,\mu^\ast) = \nu^v(\lambda)$$ where $\nu^v(\lambda)$ denotes the optimal value of the following convex optimal control problem only in the variables $y$ and $u$ $$\label{eq:primalvfix} \left. \begin{array}{l} \text{minimize}~\varphi(\lambda,y,u,v)~\text{subject to}\\ \quad \dot{y}(t) = A \, y(t) + f(t,\,y(t),\, u(t), \, v(t)),\; t \in (t_0,\, {t_\mathrm{f}}) \;{\rm a.e.}, ~y(0)= y_0, \\ \quad g_k^v(\lambda,u,t) \leq 0~\text{for all}~t \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}],~k \in \{1,\ldots,M\},\\ \quad y \in C([t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}];Y),~u \in {U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}, \end{array} \right\}$$ see, for example, [@gu:onesi; @ekturn]. Further, we introduce the sets $$F_v(\lambda) =\{\mu^\ast \in \left(C([t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}])^\ast_+\right)^M : h_v(\lambda,\mu^\ast) > - \infty\}$$ and $$G(\lambda) = \left\{\rho \in \prod_{v \in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}} F_v(\lambda) : \inf_{v\in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}} h_v(\lambda,\rho_v) \in {\mathbb{R}}\right\},$$ and, for $(r,\rho) \in \mathbb{R}\times G(\lambda)$, we define the projection $\pi(r,\rho)=r$. Finally, we introduce the following maximization problem as the dual problem of $$\label{eq:dualconvex} \left. \begin{array}{l} \text{maximize}~\pi(r,\rho)~\text{subject to}\\ \quad \rho \in G(\lambda),~r \in \mathbb{R},\\ \quad r \leq h_v(\lambda, \rho_v)~\text{for all}~v\in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}. \end{array}\right\}$$ The optimal value of this dual problem is $$\Delta(\lambda) = \sup_{\rho\in G(\lambda)} \inf_{v\in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}} h_v(\lambda,\rho_v).$$ Now we state a strong duality result. For the convenience of the reader we also present a complete proof. Note however that Theorem \[strongduality\] can also be deduced from Ky Fan’s minimax theorem in [@borweinzhuang86]. \[strongduality\] The constraint qualification implies that $$\nu(\lambda) = \Delta(\lambda),~\text{for all}~\lambda \in B(\bar \lambda),$$ where $\nu(\lambda)$ is the optimal value of with fixed initial state. Choose $\rho \in G(\lambda)$. Then convex weak duality implies that for all $v\in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$ we have $$h_v(\lambda,\rho_v) \leq \nu^v(\lambda).$$ Thus $$\inf_{v\in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}} h_v(\lambda,\rho_v) \leq \inf_{v\in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}} \nu^v(\lambda)=\nu(\lambda).$$ This implies that $$\Delta(\lambda) = \sup_{\rho\in G(\lambda)} \inf_{v\in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}} h_v(\lambda,\rho_v) \leq \nu(\lambda),$$ that is, we have shown the weak duality. Further, due to $\,$ and convex strong duality from , for each $v \in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$, we can choose some $\mu^\ast_v \in \left(C([t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}])^\ast_+\right)^M$ such that $$h_v(\lambda, \mu^\ast_v) = \nu^v(\lambda).$$ Define $\rho^\ast = (\mu^\ast_v)_{v\in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}}$. Then $\rho^\ast \in G(\lambda)$. This yields $$\begin{aligned} \Delta(\lambda) &=\sup_{\rho\in G(\lambda)} \inf_{v\in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}} h_v(\lambda,\rho_v)\\ &\geq \inf_{v \in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}} h_v(\lambda,\mu^\ast_v)=\inf_{v \in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}} \nu^v(\lambda) = \nu(\lambda). \end{aligned}$$ Hence the strong duality follows. Based upon the above duality concept, we can now show the Lipschitz continuity of the optimal value function in a neighborhood of $\bar\lambda$. To this end, we introduce for any $\varepsilon \geq 0$ the set of $\varepsilon$-optimal points $$\begin{aligned} P(\lambda,\varepsilon) =~&\bigl\{ u \in U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]} : \text{there exists}~v \in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}~\text{such that}\\ &\quad g_k^v(\lambda,u,t) \leq 0~\text{for all}~t \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}],~k=1,\ldots,M,\\ &\quad \varphi(\lambda,\,y(u,v),\,u,\, v) \leq \nu(\lambda) + \varepsilon \bigr\} \end{aligned}$$ and we set $H(\lambda,\varepsilon) = \{ \rho \in G(\lambda) : \inf_{v\in V} h_v(\lambda,\rho_v) \geq \nu(\lambda)- \varepsilon\}$. \[bounded\] Under , the set $$\Omega(\bar \lambda ):=\bigcup_{\lambda_1, \lambda_2 \in B(\bar \lambda),\,v\in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}} \left\{\rho_v : \rho \in H(\lambda_1,|\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|^2) \right\}$$ is bounded. Due to assumption , for all $v \in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$, we have the Slater point $\bar u_v$. Choose $\lambda_1$, $\lambda_2 \in B(\bar \lambda)$ and $\rho \in H(\lambda_1,|\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|^2)$. Then $\inf_{v\in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}} h_v(\lambda_1,\rho_v) \geq \nu(\lambda_1)- |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|^2$. Thus by definition of $h_v$, for all $v\in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$, we have that ${\mathcal{L}}_v(\lambda_1,\bar u_v,\rho_v) \geq h_v(\lambda_1,\rho_v) \geq \nu(\lambda_1) - |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|^2$. By definition of ${\mathcal{L}}_v$, this implies $$\varphi(\lambda_1,y(\bar u_v,v),\bar u_v,v) + \sum_{k=1}^M \int_{t_0}^{{t_\mathrm{f}}} g_k^v(\lambda_1,\bar u_v,s)\,\mathrm{d}(\rho_v)_k(s) \geq \nu(\lambda_1) - |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|^2.$$ Now using that $$g_k^v(\lambda_1,\bar u_v,t) \leq - \omega<0~\text{for all}~t \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}],~k \in \{1,\ldots,M\},$$ we can divide by $-\omega<0$ and obtain due to (\[31\]) $$\begin{aligned} \sum_{k=1}^M \int_{t_0}^{{t_\mathrm{f}}} 1\,\mathrm{d} (\rho_v)_k(s) & \leq & \frac{ \nu(\lambda_1) - |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|^2 - \varphi(\lambda_1,y(\bar u_v,v),\bar u_v, v)}{-\omega}\\ & = & \frac{|\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|^2 + \varphi(\lambda_1,y(\bar u_v,v),\bar u_v,v) - \nu(\lambda_1)}{\omega}\\ & \leq & \frac{|\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|^2 + \varphi(\lambda_1,y(\bar u_v,v),\bar u_v,v) - \underline \alpha}{\omega}\\ & \leq & \frac{|\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|^2 + \sup\limits_{v\in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}} \sup\limits_{\lambda \in B(\bar \lambda)} \varphi(\lambda,y(\bar u_v,v),\bar u_v,v) - \underline \alpha}{\omega}.\end{aligned}$$ Due to (\[30\]) this yields the assertion. \[liminf\] Suppose that holds. Then for all $\lambda_1$, $\lambda_2 \in B(\bar \lambda)$ we have $$\nu(\lambda_1) - \nu(\lambda_2) \geq -\underline C \, |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|$$ for some $\underline C$ in ${\mathbb{R}}$. Let $\lambda_1$, $\lambda_2 \in B(\bar\lambda)$ be given. Choose a solution $u\in P(\lambda_1,|\lambda_1- \lambda_2|^2)$ and $\tilde v \in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$ with $g_j^{\tilde v}(\lambda_1, u, t) \leq 0$ for all $t \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]$, $j=1, \ldots,M$, $\varphi(\lambda_1, \, y(u,\tilde v),\,u,\, \tilde v) \leq \nu(\lambda_1) + |\lambda_1- \lambda_2|^2$ and $ \bar \rho \in H( \lambda_2, |\lambda_1- \lambda_2|^2)$. Then we have $$\begin{aligned} \nu(\lambda_1) - \nu(\lambda_2) & \geq & \;\varphi(\lambda_1, y(u,\tilde v),u,\tilde v) - \inf_{v\in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}} h_v( \lambda_2, \bar \rho_v) - 2 |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|^2 \\ & \geq & \;\varphi(\lambda_1, y(u,\, \tilde v),u, \, \tilde v) - h_{\tilde v}( \lambda_2, \bar \rho_{\tilde v}) - 2 |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|^2 \\ & \geq & \;\varphi(\lambda_1, y(u,\, \tilde v),\, u, \tilde v) - {\mathcal{L}}_{\tilde v}(\lambda_2, u, \bar \rho_{\tilde v}) - 2 |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|^2 \\ & \geq & \;\varphi(\lambda_1, y(u, \tilde v),u, \tilde v) + \sum_{j=1}^M \int_{t_0}^{{t_\mathrm{f}}} g_j^{\tilde v}(\lambda_1,u,s)\,\mathrm{d} \bar \rho_{\tilde v}(s) \\ & ~ & \qquad~-{\mathcal{L}}_{\tilde v}(\lambda_2, u, \bar \rho_{\tilde v}) - 2 |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|^2 \\ & = & {\mathcal{L}}_{\tilde v} (\lambda_1,\, u, \, \bar\rho_{\tilde v}) - {\mathcal{L}}_{\tilde v} (\lambda_2,\, u, \, \bar\rho_{\tilde v}) - 2 |\lambda_1- \lambda_2|^2 \\ & \geq & - \biggl[ L_\varphi( |y(u,\,\tilde v)|,\, |u|)\\ & ~ & \qquad~+ M \, L_g(|u|) \, \int_{t_0}^{{t_\mathrm{f}}} \, d \bar \rho_{\tilde v}(s) + 2 |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2| \biggr]\, |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2 |.\end{aligned}$$ Due to (CQ), the set $\bar S(y_0)$ from (\[coercive\]) is bounded. Thus our assumptions imply that the set $\{y(\hat u,\, \hat v):\, (\hat u,\,\hat v)\in \bar S(y_0)\}$ is bounded (see (\[eq:aprioribound\])). Due to Lemma \[bounded\], the set $\Omega(\bar\lambda)$ is also bounded. Since $L_\varphi$ and $L_g$ are continuous this allows us to define the real number $$\label{underlinecdefinition} \begin{split} \tilde C = &\sup_{(\hat u,\,\hat v)\in \bar S(y_0)}\, L_\varphi( |y(\hat u,\, \hat v)|,\, |\hat u|)\\ &\quad+ M\, L_g(|\hat u|) \, \sup_{ \hat \rho_w \in \Omega(\bar \lambda)} \int_{t_0}^{{t_\mathrm{f}}} \, d \hat \rho_{w}(s) \; +2 \sup_{\lambda_1,\, \lambda_2 \in B(\bar \lambda)}|\lambda_1-\lambda_2|. \end{split}$$ Due to the definition of $ P(\lambda_1,\, |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|^2)$ we have $(u,\, \tilde v) \in \bar S(y_0)$. Moreover, we have $\bar \rho_{\tilde v} \in \Omega (\bar\lambda)$. Hence we have $$\begin{aligned} \nu(\lambda_1) - \nu(\lambda_2) & \geq & - \tilde C\; |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2| \end{aligned}$$ and the assertion follows with $ \underline C = \tilde C$. Similarly as in Lemma \[liminf\], by interchanging the roles of $\lambda_1 $ and $\lambda_2$, and with the choice $\overline C =\tilde C$ with $\tilde C$ as defined in (\[underlinecdefinition\]) we can prove the following Lemma: \[limsup\] Suppose that holds. Then, for all $\lambda_1,\, \lambda_2 \in B(\bar \lambda)$, we have $$\nu(\lambda_1) - \nu(\lambda_2) \leq \overline C \, |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|,$$ for some $\overline C$ in ${\mathbb{R}}$. The above analysis implies our main result about the Lipschitz continuity of the optimal value as a function of the parameter $\lambda$. \[thm:LipConstraints\] Under the Assumptions \[ass:ControlSys\]–\[ass:Convex\], for any $\bar\lambda \in \Lambda$ and a bounded neighborhood $B(\bar\lambda) \subset \Lambda$ satisfying the constraint qualification it holds $$\label{eq:nuLipCostConstraint} |\nu(\lambda_1) - \nu(\lambda_2)| \leq \tilde C \, |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|\quad\text{for all}~\lambda_1,\,\lambda_2 \in B(\bar \lambda)$$ with $\tilde C$ as defined in , that is, the optimal value function $\nu$ is Lipschitz continuous in a neighborhood of $\bar \lambda$ with Lipschitz constant $\tilde C$. The result follows from combining the proofs of Lemma \[liminf\] and \[limsup\]. Joint perturbations {#sec:joint} =================== In this section, we study the joint local Lipschitz continuity of the value function $\nu$ with respect to $\lambda$ acting on the initial data, the constraints and the costs. We consider the mixed-integer optimal control problem . In contrast to Section \[sec:constraints\] the initial state $y_0(\lambda)$ depends on $\lambda$. Also, the constraints and the objective function depend on $\lambda$. The result is obtained by combining Theorem \[thm:LipInitial\] and \[thm:LipConstraints\]. \[thm:JointLip\] Under the Assumptions \[ass:ControlSys\]–\[ass:Convex\], for any $\bar\lambda \in \Lambda$, a bounded neighborhood $B(\bar\lambda) \subset \Lambda$ let $L_0,L_{\varphi}$ be constants such that and hold as in Theorem \[thm:LipInitial\]. Further, suppose that (CQ) holds in the sense that is satisfied and $\cup_{y_0 \in Y_0} \bar S(y_0)$ is bounded with $\bar S(y_0)$ from and $Y_0 = \{y_0(\lambda) : \lambda \in B(\bar\lambda)\}$. Then, there exists a constant $L_\nu$ such that $$\label{eq:nuJointlyLip} |\nu(\lambda_1)-\nu(\lambda_2)| \leq L_\nu |\lambda_1 - \lambda_2|,\quad\text{for all}~\lambda_1,\,\lambda_2 \in B(\bar \lambda),$$ where $\nu(\lambda)$ is the optimal value of as defined in . In this proof, for $\lambda \in B(\bar\lambda)$ and $y_0 \in Y$, we use the notation $$\label{eq:defnu2} \begin{array}{l} \nu(\lambda,y_0)=\inf \bigl\{\varphi(\lambda,y,u,v) :\\ \quad \dot{y}(t) = A \, y(t) + f(t,\,y(t),\, u(t), \, v(t)),\; t \in (t_0,\, {t_\mathrm{f}}) \;{\rm a.e.}, ~y(0)= y_0, \\ \quad g_k^v(\lambda,u,t) \leq 0~\text{for all}~t \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}],~k=1,\ldots,M,\\ \quad y \in C([t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}];Y),~u \in {U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}},~v \in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}\bigr\}. \end{array}$$ Due to and the set $Y_0$ is bounded by the constant $K$ from Theorem \[thm:LipInitial\] and for all $y_0 \in Y_0$, $v \in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$, $\lambda \in B(\bar\lambda)$ we have the upper bound $$\begin{split} \varphi(\lambda,y(y_0,\bar u_v,v),\bar u_v,v) \leq \varphi(\bar\lambda,&\,y(y_0(\bar\lambda),\bar u_v,v),\bar u_v,v)\\ +~L_{\varphi}(|y(y_0,\bar u_v,v),\bar u_v,v)~-&~y(y_0(\bar\lambda),\bar u_v,v),\bar u_v,v)|+|\lambda-\bar\lambda|). \end{split}$$ Moreover, from Lemma \[lem:bounds\], we obtain $|y(y_0,\bar u_v,v)| \leq C({t_\mathrm{f}})(1+K)$. This implies . Using similar arguments, we get a lower bound $$\nu(\lambda,y_0)\geq\inf_{y_0 \in Y_0} \inf_{v\in V_{[t_0,\,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}} \inf_{\lambda \in B(\bar \lambda)} \varphi(\lambda,y(y_0,\bar u_v,v),\bar u_v,v)=:\underline\alpha>-\infty.$$ This implies with $\underline\alpha$ independent of $\lambda$. Thus Assumptions \[ass:CQ\] holds for all $y_0 \in Y_0$ and the proof of Lemma \[bounded\] shows that the bound of the set $\Omega(\bar\lambda)$ is independent of $y_0$. Due to the function $L_{\varphi}$ in Assumptions \[ass:Convex\] is constant and $\tilde C$ from reduces to $$\begin{split} \tilde C = L_\varphi~+ &~M \sup_{y_0 \in Y_0} \sup_{(\hat u,\hat v)\in \bar S(y_0)} L_g(|\hat u|) \, \sup_{ \hat \rho_w \in \Omega(\bar \lambda)} \int_{t_0}^{{t_\mathrm{f}}} \, d \hat \rho_{w}(s) \\ &+ 2 \sup_{\lambda_1,\, \lambda_2 \in B(\bar \lambda)}|\lambda_1-\lambda_2|<\infty. \end{split}$$ Now, let $\lambda_1,\lambda_2 \in B(\bar{\lambda})$. From Theorem \[thm:LipInitial\] with $\lambda_1$ as first argument of $\nu$ fixed we get $|\nu(\lambda_1,y_0(\lambda_1))-\nu(\lambda_1,y_0(\lambda_2))|\leq \hat L_{\nu} |\lambda_1-\lambda_2|$ with $\hat L_{\nu}$ given by . From Theorem \[thm:LipConstraints\] with $\lambda_2$ as an argument of $y_0$ fixed we get $|\nu(\lambda_1,y_0(\lambda_2))-\nu(\lambda_2,y_0(\lambda_2))|\leq \tilde C |\lambda_1-\lambda_2|$. Thus we obtain the inequality $$\begin{aligned} & |\nu(\lambda_1,y_0(\lambda_1))-\nu(\lambda_2,y_0(\lambda_2))|\\ & \quad \leq |\nu(\lambda_1,y_0(\lambda_1))-\nu(\lambda_1,y_0(\lambda_2))| + |\nu(\lambda_1,y_0(\lambda_2))-\nu(\lambda_2,y_0(\lambda_2))|\\ & \quad \leq (\hat L_{\nu}+\tilde C) |\lambda_1-\lambda_2|\\ \end{aligned}$$ and follows with $L_{\nu}=\hat L_{\nu}+\tilde C$. Example {#sec:example} ======= We discuss an academic application concerning the optimal positioning of an actuator motivated from applications in thermal manufacturing [@IftimeDemetriou2009; @HanteSager2013]. Suppose that $\Omega \subset {\mathbb{R}}^2$ is a bounded domain containing two non-overlapping control domains $\omega_1$ and $\omega_2$. For simplicity, we assume that the boundaries of all these domains $\partial \Omega$, $\partial \omega_1$ and $\partial \omega_2$ are smooth. Let $\varepsilon,\delta>0$ be two given parameters, let $\chi_{\omega_i}$ denote the characteristic function of $\omega_i$, let $v|_{[t_1,t_2]^+}$ denote the restriction of $v$ to the non-negative part of the interval $[t_1,t_2]$ and let $\Delta y$ denote the Laplace operator. For a time horizon with ${t_\mathrm{f}}-t_0 > \delta$, we consider the optimal control problem $$\begin{aligned} &\text{minimize} ~\int_{t_0}^{{t_\mathrm{f}}} \int_\Omega |y(t,x)-\hat{y}(t,x)|^2\,dx\,dt + \int_{t_0}^{{t_\mathrm{f}}} |u(t)|^2\,dt\\ &y_t - \Delta y + v(t)u(t) \chi_{\omega_1} + (1-v(t))u(t) \chi_{\omega_2} = 0\quad \text{on}~(t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}) \times \Omega\\ &y=0\quad \text{on}~(t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}) \times \partial\Omega\\ &y=\bar y\quad \text{on}~\{t_0\} \times \Omega\\ &v(t) \in {\mathcal{V}}=\{0,1\}\quad \text{on}~[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]\\ &u(t) \in \begin{cases}[0,1+\varepsilon] & ~\text{if}~v|_{[t-\delta,t]^+} \equiv 1~\text{or}~v|_{[t-\delta,t]^+} \equiv 0 ~\text{a.\,e. on}~[t-\delta,t]^+\\ [0,\varepsilon] &~\text{else}. \end{cases} \end{aligned}$$ The combination of the actuator and constraints in this problem model that the continuous control $u$ is restricted to a small uncontrollable disturbance $\varepsilon$ for a dwell-time period of length $\delta$ whenever a decision was taken to change the control region $\omega_1$ to $\omega_2$ or vice versa while the goal is to steer the initial state $\bar{y} \in L^2(\Omega)$ as close as possible to a desired state $\hat{y} \in C([t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}];L^2(\Omega))$. We consider a perturbation $\lambda=(\bar{y},\varepsilon,\hat{y})$, i.e., a joint perturbation of initial data, the disturbance and the tracking target. We can consider this problem in the abstract setting with $Y=L^2(\Omega)$, $U={\mathbb{R}}$, ${U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}=L^\infty(t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}})$ $$\begin{aligned} &Ay = {\Delta}y,~y \in D(A)=H^2(\Omega) \cap H^{1}_0(\Omega),\\ &f(y,u,v)=f(u,v)=-(vu \chi_{\omega_1} + (1-v)u \chi_{\omega_2}),\\ &\varphi(\lambda,y,u,v)=\int_{t_0}^{{t_\mathrm{f}}} \int_\Omega |y(t,x)-\hat{y}(t,x)|^2\,dx\,dt + \int_{t_0}^{{t_\mathrm{f}}} |u(t)|^2\,dt, \end{aligned}$$ defining $$\bar u^v_\varepsilon(t) = \begin{cases}1+\varepsilon & ~\text{if}~v|_{[t-\delta,t]^+} \equiv 1~\text{or}~v|_{[t-\delta,t]^+} \equiv 0 ~\text{a.\,e. on}~[t-\delta,t]^+\\ \varepsilon &~\text{else}, \end{cases}$$ and setting $M=2$ and, for all $v \in {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$ $$\begin{aligned} g^v_1(\lambda,\, u,\, t) & = & \displaystyle \operatorname{ess\,sup}_{s \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]} (u(s)-\bar u^v_\varepsilon(s)), \\ g^v_2(\lambda,\, u,\, t) & = & \displaystyle \operatorname{ess\,sup}\limits_{s \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]} (-u(s)).\end{aligned}$$ Here the $g^v_i(\lambda,\, u,\, \cdot)$ are constant with respect to $t$ and hence continuous as functions of $t$. Moreover, the maps $u \mapsto g^v_i(\lambda,\, u,\, \cdot)$ are continuous in $L^\infty (t_0, \, {t_\mathrm{f}})$. The objective function is convex with respect to $(y,u)$ and also the maps $u \mapsto g^v_i(\lambda,\, u,\, t)$ are convex. Let $\varepsilon_1$, $\varepsilon_2>0$ be such that without restriction we have $\operatorname{ess\,sup}_{s \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]} (u(s)-\bar u^v_{\varepsilon_1}(s)) \geq \operatorname{ess\,sup}_{s \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]} (u(s)-\bar u^v_{\varepsilon_2}(s))$. Then we have $$\begin{aligned} & & | g^v_1(\lambda_1,\, u,\, t)- g^v_1(\lambda_2,\, u,\, t) | \\ & = & \operatorname{ess\,sup}_{s \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]} (u(s)-\bar u^v_{\varepsilon_1}(s)) - \operatorname{ess\,sup}_{s \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]} (u(s)-\bar u^v_{\varepsilon_2}(s)) \\ & = & \operatorname{ess\,sup}_{s \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]} (u(s)+\bar u^v_{\varepsilon_2}(s) -\bar u^v_{\varepsilon_1}(s)-\bar u^v_{\varepsilon_2}(s))+\\ & & \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad - \operatorname{ess\,sup}_{s \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]} (u(s)-\bar u^v_{\varepsilon_2}(s)) \\ & \leq & \operatorname{ess\,sup}_{s \in [t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]} |\bar u^v_{\varepsilon_2}(s) -\bar u^v_{\varepsilon_1}(s)| \\ & \leq & |\varepsilon_2 - \varepsilon_1| .\end{aligned}$$ It is well-known that $(A,D(A))$ is the generator of a strongly continuous (analytic) semigroup of contractions $\{T(t)\}_{t \geq 0}$ on $Y$, see, e.g., [@Pazy1983]. Also, Assumptions \[ass:ControlSys\]–\[ass:Convex\] are easily verified and it is easy to see that and hold. The constraint qualification (CQ) is satisfied with $\omega=\frac{\varepsilon}{2}$ and $\underline \alpha=0$. The control constraints imply that the set $\bar S$ is bounded in ${U_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}\times {V_{[t_0,{t_\mathrm{f}}]}}$ independently of the initial state $y_0$. Hence we can conclude from Theorem \[thm:JointLip\] that the optimal value function $\nu$ is locally Lipschitz continuous jointly as a function of $\lambda=(\bar{y},\varepsilon,\hat{y})$. Conclusion ========== We have studied the optimal value function for control problems on Banach spaces that involve both continuous and discrete control decisions. For control systems of a semilinear type subject to control constraints, we have shown that the optimal value depends locally Lipschitz continuously on perturbations of the initial data and costs under natural assumptions. For problems consisting of linear systems on a Banach space subject to convex control inequality constraints, we have shown that the optimal value of convex cost functions depend locally Lipschitz continuously on Lipschitz continuous perturbations of the costs and the constraints under a Slater-type constraint qualification. The result has been obtained by proving a strong duality for an appropriate dual problem. By a combination of the above results we have for the linear, convex case obtained local Lipschitz continuity jointly for parametric initial data, control constraints and cost functions. The Example \[ex:nonsmooth\] shows that this result is sharp in the sense that we can, in general, not expect much more regularity than we have proved. Our analysis currently does not address the stability of the optimal control under perturbations. This is an interesting direction for future work. 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Heat resistance of Listeria monocytogenes. Raw milk was inoculated with Listeria monocytogenes and heat at 69 degrees C to 73 degrees C. The organism was recovered from 46.6% of the heated samples, but not from samples heated at 73 degrees C, after variable periods at refrigeration temperature. The results suggest that a low number of listeriae survive thermal treatments, but cold enrichment is necessary to repair the thermally injured cells. | High | [
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This elegant, contemporary ceramic table lamp features a long-neck genie bottle design in a beautiful melon finish. The round base is made of clear. polished acrylic, and it is topped with a bright pearl dupioni drum shade. Includes a high/low dimmer switch on the socket. From Robert Abbey. Made of ceramic with amethyst glaze in a diamond shape, this fantastic U.S.A. made table lamp will give your home decor a lift. Polished nickel accents add glistening touches while a beautiful oyster linen drum shade seems to float on ... Designed in Hickory, North Carolina, U.S.A., this vibrant ceramic table lamp features a sleek rectangular shape in bold citron glaze finish. A square clear Lucite base supports the design from the bottom while the look is completed with a bright ... Brighten a favorite side table with this charming contemporary ceramic table lamp. Intriguingly shaped, its stunning base is coated in a lively Schiaparelli pink finish. Topped with an oyster linen shade, this darling accent will bring a beautiful burst of ... Video: Table Lamp Buying Guide This guide helps you buy a table lamp with the features you want.11/14/2017 11:48:53 AM Video: Table Lamp Height Guide When deciding on a table lamp height consider the eye level rule. For example, when sitting on a sofa, the bottom of the shade should line up with your eye level so that the light isn’t shining directly into your eyes.11/14/2017 11:49:56 AM Video: Table Lamp Features This guide helps you buy a table lamp with the features you want.11/14/2017 11:50:47 AM *Free Shipping applies only to orders shipping to the 48 contiguous United States or to Canada that qualify and meet the minimum purchase requirement; standard shipping only and select products excluded, including freight and oversized items. Free Returns applies only to orders shipped to the 48 contiguous United States and is valid on select items; does not apply to freight, clearance, Daily Sale, designs with giclee art shades, Color Plus and Tiffany Color Plus brand items, or certain items with designer shades. Your JavaScript is not enabled! You have either disabled JavaScript or are using an older browser that does not support it. Because of this, you will not be able to view our web pages or use our site features. In order to browse our site, please turn on JavaScript in your browser settings or upgrade your browser version. | Low | [
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Q: Image Denoising with Better Edge Preservation I have the input image : and the output of vein detection for the leaf using a Gabor filter, but the output is really noisy: I tried using Total variation denoising however the results are not good: However I don't want to loose the fine details in the leaf's veins, so a median filter won't suit my problem A: Sounds like you want to denoise and preserve edges. Have you considered nonlocal means? There's some GPL'd C++ code along with a brief writeup of the algorithm by the original authors here: http://www.ipol.im/pub/algo/bcm_non_local_means_denoising/ One caveat, nonlocal means is very slow and the output can be sensitive to the implementation you have. You may also consider ROF minimzation as it's fast and does a good job of preserving edges. Here's some matlab code that does it: http://www.stanford.edu/~tagoldst/Tom_Goldstein/Split_Bregman.html | High | [
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Beckhams Expecting Again Mimi ON Jan 10, 2011 AT 10:05 am David and Victoria Beckham David and Victoria Beckham are expecting their fourth child together. The soccer star and the fashion designer – who already have three sons, Brooklyn, 11, Romeo, eight, and five-year-old Cruz – will welcome a new addition to their family in the summer, their spokesperson has confirmed. She told People magazine: “David and Victoria Beckham are delighted to confirm they are expecting their fourth child in the summer. Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz are very excited about the arrival of their new brother or sister.” David, 35, and Victoria, 36, have never made it a secret they would like more children and were keen to have a daughter. Last year, David said: “I really want more kids and I hope it happens soon. I want a little girl. That would be amazing.” Victoria has previously said: “I would love to have a little girl. If I am blessed to have another baby at some point that would be great. | Mid | [
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Conventional flat-panel displays made in accordance with known liquid crystal display technologies have heretofore been both limited in size and expensive to manufacture. A large display device may be constructed at reduced cost by assembling multiple smaller display "tiles". However, it is necessary to make the internal seams visually imperceptible to create a pleasing display. For the seams to be visually imperceptible and for the display image to be sharp, the light used to illuminate the display must be highly collimated. A collimated light source must allow essentially no visible energy to radiate beyond an allowable off-normal angle. The allowable off-normal angle is prescribed by the tile thickness and the cover plate mask and back plate mask dimensions. It is defined as the critical off-normal angle below which light from the illumination source must not enter the tile to tile seam area. This type of tiled display construction is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,531, entitled "Construction and Sealing of Tiled, Flat-Panel Displays"; and co-pending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 08/593,759, filed on Jan. 29, 1996, entitled "Tiled, Flat-Panel Display Having Invisible Seams". Both U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,531 and co-pending application Ser. No. 08/593,759 are hereby incorporated by reference. Typical practice for LCD illumination uses area light sources such as fluorescent tube arrays. A collimator must focus the light from the light source forward, toward the flat-panel display, forcing essentially all visible light energy to fall within the off-normal angle described hereinabove. Most commonly used collimators do reduce the light intensity at large off-normal angles, but do not perform well enough at small off-normal angles for use with a tiled, flat-panel display having visually imperceptible seams. A seamless appearance in a tiled, flat-panel display requires that unwanted visible light energy outside of the off-normal angle be reduced to less than one percent of the intensity of the light at a normal angle. This percentage is derived in a 1992 reference paper by G. Alphonse and J. Lubin entitled "Psychophysical Requirements for a Tiled Large Screen Display" published in SPIE Journal, Volume 1664, pp. 230-240. In tiled, flat-panel constructions featuring a cover plate with an integral screen, the light must also be collimated to such an extent that essentially no light from one pixel can reach the screen area associated with any other pixel. Adherence to this requirement produces the sharpest possible image on the tiled, flat-panel display. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an apparatus and method for producing highly collimated light suitable for use with a tiled, flat-panel display having visually imperceptible seams. It is a further object of the invention to provide a means of reducing the intensity of visible light energy, which falls outside of a desired, off-normal angle, to an acceptable level. It is yet another object of this invention to maximize the pixel resolution in tiled, flat-panel displays by providing highly collimated light. It is a further object of this invention to produce a wide area, collimated light source having a small depth to enable building tiled, flat-panel displays having a small overall thickness. The present invention provides an apparatus and method for producing the highly collimated light required for use with a seamless, tiled, flat-panel display. | High | [
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Characterization of Dizziness After Lasmiditan Usage: Findings From the SAMURAI and SPARTAN Acute Migraine Treatment Randomized Trials. SAMURAI and SPARTAN were double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 studies conducted in the United States, as well as the United Kingdom and Germany (SPARTAN only). Individuals with migraine were randomized to receive oral lasmiditan 50 mg (SPARTAN only), 100 mg, 200 mg, or placebo within 4 hours of onset of a migraine attack. The aim of this analysis was to characterize dizziness reported with lasmiditan treatment. Data from SAMURAI and SPARTAN were pooled for the current post hoc analyses. Onset time and duration of dizziness were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Subgroup analyses based on presence/absence of dizziness were performed for the endpoints of interference with daily activity, patient global impression of change (PGIC), pain at 2 hours, and most bothersome symptom (MBS) at 2 hours based on adverse events occurring within 2 hours of taking study drug. Dizziness incidence was as follows: Placebo (N = 1262), 2.9% (0.1% severe); lasmiditan 50 mg (N = 654), 8.6% (0.3% severe); lasmiditan 100 mg (N = 1265), 14.9% (0.7% severe); and lasmiditan 200 mg (N = 1258), 16.8% (1.4% severe). Among participants who received lasmiditan as their first dose, risk factors for dizziness were higher lasmiditan dosage, being non-Hispanic/Latino, mild or moderate severity of migraine attack, and lower body mass index. The median time to onset of dizziness was generally 30-40 minutes, and the median duration was 1.5-2 hours. The presence of dizziness did not appear to have a negative influence on lasmiditan's effect on daily activity, PGIC, freedom from pain, or MBS. Overall, 21 participants experienced vertigo: Lasmiditan 50 mg, n = 2 (0.3%); 100 mg, n = 11 (0.9%); 200 mg, n = 7 (0.6%); and placebo, n = 1 (<0.1%). The incidence of dizziness with lasmiditan increased with dose. Dizziness was generally mild or moderate in severity and of quick onset and short duration. The presence of dizziness did not influence drug efficacy. | High | [
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***Update***: The American Cancer Society has responded to this post. … This isn’t necessarily a story of discrimination against atheists. But I find it hard to believe a church group would have been treated the same way… hear me out and let me know if you feel the same way. To preface the story, I’m reminded of Kiva, the microlending website. On that site, individuals can loan out a relatively small amount of money, say $25, to a person who really needs it. By gathering a couple hundred dollars or so via small loans, many people around the world can get the capital they need to get their “businesses” off the ground. It might even help them get out of poverty. (Ideally, they pay back the loan, allowing you to reloan the money to somebody else.) That’s a powerful project. But one way Kiva encourages even more people to loan money is by allowing them to be part of a larger group. Like the group called “Atheists, Agnostics, Skeptics, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists and the Non-Religious.” As I write this, the 17,000+ members of that group have loaned out more money than any other group out there — nearly $5,000,000. (The Kiva Christians are in second place by a mile.) Now back to the current story. A couple months ago, philanthropist Todd Stiefel came to the Foundation Beyond Belief board (which I’m on) with an excellent idea. Every year, the American Cancer Society sponsors an international event called Relay For Life. While details vary from location to location, the Relay is basically an event in which teams walk for 12 or 24 hours straight (or take turns doing it, hence “relay”). I’ve participated in Relay For Life three times, as a student and as a teacher (all the events took place at the high school I was at). Someone in my group would bring a tent and we would “camp” overnight around the school’s football field while my friends and I took turns walking around the track. It’s an incredible event, inspirational and fun for everyone. More importantly, all the donations go to a worthy cause. As it turns out, your local group can also be part of a National Team… which is perfect if you’d like to help the cause with a huge group of people who don’t live in the same area. So, Todd said, wouldn’t it be amazing if we could get atheists around the world to participate in their local Relays — but under the umbrella of the Foundation Beyond Belief? What a brilliant idea. Can you imagine the headlines if a group of atheists, worldwide, raised more money for cancer research than any other National Team?! To sweeten the deal, Todd made another proposal: His family would contribute up to $250,000 in matching funds! So, whatever amount your local group raised (under the FBB National Team banner), Todd would double that donation up to a quarter-million dollars. (Obviously, running this endeavor requires a lot of time and effort. So Todd also pledged an additional amount of money to FBB for operational support so one of our interns could manage this whole shindig.) What would we need to make this happen? Simple. The American Cancer Society would just have to list “Foundation Beyond Belief” as one of their National Teams so that local groups could go to the drop-down menu and sign up “under” that FBB banner. Normally, for a National Team to be listed in the menu, you must have had 50 local groups participate the previous year. We didn’t have that. But Todd was basically going to help raise $500,000 for the ACS — why on earth would they refuse to list us? You can see where this is going… So, back in July, Todd got in touch with one of the people who runs Relay For Life — I’m going to call him “Bob” — and explained what he wanted to do. Bob said this shouldn’t be a problem — not only could we have the team, the ACS would take care of everything on their end while Todd went out of town for a couple weeks. When Todd returned, though, he hadn’t heard back from Bob. Todd sent an email asking Bob how things were proceeding. Another two weeks passed without a response. No phone call. No email. Nothing. Todd called them again and left a message expressing his concerns about their lack of responsiveness, asking if we should look to partner elsewhere. Two more weeks passed without response. Think about that for a second. You work for a non-profit organization and a donor calls to say they essentially want to hand you half a million dollars. What do you do? You get back to that person as-soon-as-goddamn-possible. But the ACS didn’t respond for over a month… Keep in mind, by the way, that Todd’s local group, the Triangle Freethought Society, raised over $23,000 during Relay For Life last year, more money than any other local group. This was someone who believed in what Relay For Life was doing and wanted to further the American Cancer Society’s cause. It’s a non-profit’s dream come true. Finally, Todd heard back from someone. But it wasn’t from the national office. It was from a local Relay For Life leader in Raleigh, North Carolina, who got in touch with Todd, only coincidentally while all this stuff was going down, simply to meet him in person and thank him for his team’s efforts last year. Todd arranged to meet with her — and also mentioned how he was having some difficulties getting through to the ACS. He told her what had happened since he first contacted Bob. The lady was appalled and told Todd she’d get to the bottom of this. Finally, after all this time, Bob sent an email to Todd. Todd asked why he hadn’t heard from him and inquired whether or not he should take his money elsewhere. Bob explained the situation like this: The Relay for Life website was in the process of getting a major update, and some things with the organization were changing. For example — surprise! — they’re no longer allowing National Teams that are “non-corporate”… because of limited resources, the ACS decided to stop putting effort into non-corporate teams. So they had to decline the Foundation Beyond Belief group. Bob added that FBB teams were welcome to participate in events locally, but they would not be treated as a unified group. Wait, says Todd. Let me get this straight. You don’t have enough resources to allocate to non-corporate groups… even when it might bring in $500,000?! You don’t need additional staff. You don’t need a new website. You just need to write one line of code in the drop-down menu! (I’ll take a moment here, as someone who has worked with non-profit groups, to say that if a staffer ignored an offer of $500,000 from a donor because it involved 20 seconds of writing some code, that person would be fired on the spot.) It seemed like all hope was lost. But Todd got in touch with Bob one more time because he had a few questions. Their conversation happened earlier this week Based on what I know of the story, here’s my imagined, scripted version of how the conversation went. Todd: You said we couldn’t have a non-corporate National Team? Bob: Correct. Todd: Well, since Foundation Beyond Belief is a 501(c)(3) corporation, can we be part of the Corporate Team program? Bob: No. Todd: Why? Bob: You don’t meet the criteria. Todd: What criteria? Bob: You’re not a business. Todd: So? How does it hurt you to have a non-business corporate National Team? Bob: Umm… It’s our decision. We’re only going to have corporate partners. Todd: Ok, well, what about the Matching Challenge? Bob: If you want to give us money, that’d be fine. Todd: Fine?… Just fine? $500,000 is just FINE!? Bob: Yes. But we won’t be able to help you track the money your local teams collect. Todd: … even though you track the money for all the local groups anyway? Bob: Correct. Todd: Well, forget the corporate program. I see that you also allow National Youth Partners? Bob: Indeed! In fact, we’re looking forward to accelerating* that program! (*That’s the word Bob used.) Todd: Well, can we start a National Youth Partner team for the Secular Student Alliance or CFI – On Campus? Between them, they have hundreds of chapters. Bob: No… Todd: Why not? Bob: We’re not set up that way. In fact, we’re going to be de-emphasizing our National Youth Partners program when we revamp our website. Right….. NOW! Todd: But I’m looking at the drop-down menu on your revamped website. Sigma Alpha Lambda is one of your National Youth Partners and you list them under the banner of National Teams: Bob: Umm… we haven’t updated that part of the site yet. Todd: Didn’t you just update everything on your site last week? To summarize everything, Todd and Foundation Beyond Belief are able to run local teams and we can still do the Matching Challenge, but the American Cancer Society won’t recognize us nationally. Todd did ask very bluntly if this was a publicity issue, about the ACS having a connection to a group of atheists. Bob insisted that wasn’t the case — in fact, they had supported LGBT teams in the past without hesitation. So that’s where we’re at. Todd’s frustrated. Those of us at the Foundation Beyond Belief are frustrated. The only people who don’t seem fazed by this are the people at the ACS. It seems like they’d rather give up $500,000 because it’s raised by atheists… than do a minimal amount of work on their end, or make an exception that could benefit so many people, and give us a National Team to make it easier to mobilize our community to hit that goal. For what it’s worth, the ACS did agree to provide support to our intern to help get teams organized and they offered to provide some promotion of the Matching Challenge… but it’s a far cry from what could have been. I have to wonder if a donor representing a large national Christian group would have been treated the same way. I don’t know if anyone reading this has a connection to the ACS or Relay For Life, but I’d love to hear their response to this. | Mid | [
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Published: June 20, 2013 at 1:28 pm Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE:SCHW) is one of the largest U.S. brokerage firms, with almost 9 million client accounts and assets of almost $2 trillion. Schwab offers retail brokerage services, services to investment advisors, as well as retirement plan services and more. While new account growth is weaker than it has been in the past, client trading activity is on the rise (as happens during most bull markets), making this sector a potential beneficiary if the U.S. E TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ETFC)conomic recovery continues. With a good growth rate, but high valuation, is Schwab a buy, or would investors be better off looking at a competing brokerage, such as TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NYSE:AMTD) or E TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ETFC)? How does Schwab make its money? Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE:SCHW)separates its business into three distinct segments. The Investor Services segment makes up 39% of the company’s revenue and includes the company’s retail brokerage and banking businesses, and offers its clients the opportunity to buy and sell securities in their personal accounts. The brokerage also offers clients a range of investment planning tools and professional advice from Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE:SCHW)’s portfolio consultants. Schwab’s Advisor Services segment accounts for 40% of the company’s revenue and offers investment advisors a platform to conduct their business, including managing their clients’ accounts. Finally, the Other Institutional Services segment that makes up the remaining 21% of the company’s revenue includes a variety of services, such as retirement plans, services to investment plan administrators, mutual fund clearing services, and more. Growth and valuation: too expensive? With profits highly dependent on interest income, Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE:SCHW) is likely to have slow revenue growth until the Fed raises rates. While this is unlikely to happen anytime in the near future, it does provide a very interesting growth opportunity once it does happen, most likely in a year or two. Additionally, there has been a recent trend starting of investors moving money into equities from cash and bonds, which should provide Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE:SCHW) (and its competitors) with increased income from trading commissions. Schwab is expected to post earnings of $0.73 per share for the current fiscal year, rising to $0.86 and $1.03 in 2014 and 2015. This means that shares trade for 28 times this year’s earnings, which sounds reasonable for a company with 18% annual earnings growth projected over the next two years. Before we go jumping in, let’s take a quick look at two other major retail brokerages that Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE:SCHW) competes with. Larry Robbins' Glenview Capital Opportunity Fund returned 101.7% in 2013 and Robbins personally made $750 million. The same fund returned 25.3% in 2014. In this FREE REPORT we will share Robbins' top dividend idea that yields 3.5% and has been increasing its dividends for 39 consecutive years. Robbins thinks the stock has the potential to appreciate 70%. This is a FREE report from Insider Monkey. Credit Card is NOT required. | Mid | [
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Star Wars Battlefront II progression system is being revamped EA confirms changes are inbound EA DICE is doing its damned hardest to try and iron out the major issues with Star Wars Battlefront II, with the industry giant now confirming it's tinkering away with the progression system of the beleaguered sci-fi extravaganza. Writing in a new update, the developer revealed that 'significant changes' are in the pipeline for the progression system, although wouldn't actually commit to what these will include. What's more, we won't actually find out until March. The studio noted that feedback from gamers 'has been essential' and that the changes will 'address many of the things we've seen players asking for.' After the whole microtransaction debacle, this definitely sounds like a step in the right direction for those of you still sticking with the game. Elsewhere, EA DICE confirmed that a limited-time mode titled Jetpack Cargo is rolling out in February, which sees two teams of eight players slugging it out in a 'fast-paced' and 'frantic' battle. Players can also look forward to a new season rolling out, though details weren't provided. Despite all these promises from EA, one still has to wonder if Battlefront II's reputation has been irrevocably tarnished by the various problems that have plagued the game since launch. Is it a case of too little, too late? In the meantime, Alice is still finding Battlefront II's single-player component by far the most compelling thing about it. | Mid | [
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Instantor's Blog The Impact of AUC and Gini on Credit Risk Models For several years, we atInstantorhave helped consumer finance organisations make the most profitable decisions through our digitalised financing processes. We understand that your main challenges are in day-to-day operations: limited loan acceptance, fraud, bad loans, and default, and consequently, a reduced profit. In this article, we will dive into calculating risk to demonstratehow Instantor is helping clientsreduce credit losses by a quarter. Area Under the Curve & Gini Coefficient There are two primary questions in the lending industry: How risky is a customer? Should we lend to a borrower given his or her risk? Image credit: Volkan Olmez The answer to the first question is related to KYC assesses the likelihood of a customer defaulting and the probability of an application being fraudulent. Establishing the ability of a customer to repay determines the borrowing capacity of a customer. At the same time, this question also sets the interest rate and the term the borrower should have, as the interest rate measures the riskiness of the borrower, among other things (such as time value of money). For example, the riskier the borrower, the higher the interest rate. With interest rate in mind, we can then determine if the borrower is eligible for the loan using a credit scoring model. The second question relates to the probability of a customer repaying given the loan amount, interest rate and repayment schedule. It is crucial to consider whether the loan will be profitable, even if a customer’s payments are made in a timely fashion. This post is for risk managers who want to explore tackling these challenges through an Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning (ML) toolbox. Here we examine two of the most popular tools for assessing the accuracy of a credit scoring models, namely: the Area Under the Curve (AUC) and Gini coefficient (Gini). We will briefly explain what AUC and Gini mean and how to interpret them in the context of credit scoring. Area Under the Curve Both Gini and AUC are standard measures of accuracy for assessing the performance of credit scoring models. Both of these measures can be used in similar manners and AUC is needed to establish Gini. Gini is, in fact, a simplified representation of AUC, as Gini equals AUC * 2 - 1. The AUC is calculated as a number between 0.5 and 1. It plots the relationship between true positives and true negatives. A true positive in credit risk assessment is a measure of how many creditworthy applicants are correctly identified as creditworthy. Whereas, true negative is a measure of how many uncreditworthy applications are identified as uncreditworthy. A good model will result in a high number of true positives and true negatives. The higher the AUC, the better the model is at assessing creditworthiness. Gini and AUC are intrinsically related as Gini is derived from AUC. Gini Coefficient A Gini coefficient can be used toevaluate the performanceof a classifier. A classifier is a model that identifies to which class or category a request belongs to. In credit risk, classifiers can identify if an applicant belongs to the creditworthy or the uncreditworthy categories[1]. Gini is most commonly used for imbalanced datasets where the probability alone makes it difficult to predict an outcome. The Gini coefficient is a standard metric in risk assessment because the likelihood of default is relatively low. In the consumer finance industry, Gini can assess theaccuracy of a predictionaround whether a loan applicant will repay or default. Gini is measured in values between 0 and 1, where a score of 1means that the model is 100% accurate in predicting the outcome.A score of 1 only exists in theory. In practice, the closer the Gini is to 1, the better. Whereas, a Gini score equal to 0 means the model is entirely inaccurate. To achieve a score of 0, the model would have toascribe random valuesto every prediction. A higher Gini is beneficial to the bottom line because requests can be assessed more accurately, which means acceptance can be increased and at less risk. In the above example, the lighter colour below the darker lines is the AUC. The Gini here is calculated as follows: Client Gini coefficient = AUC*2-1 = (0.65*2)-1 = 0.3 Instantor Gini = AUC*2 - 1 = (0.77 * 2) - 1 = 0.54 How are AUC and Gini scores used Risk scoring models anticipate a person's probability of defaulting by assessing creditworthiness. Credit scoring models provide the variables for risk calculations.Calculating the risk involved in providing finance to a customer is essential for helping consumer finance organisations decide whom to grant credit to, how much to award, what the interest rate should be, and how to increase their bottom line. The scores obtained from credit scoring models are used for decision-making. As such, ensuring model accuracy is critical for both. How does Instantor use Gini and AUC scores? Predictive models classify loan applicants into two categories: good and bad. The good classification applies to an applicant with a low probability of default, and the bad classification applies to an applicant with a high probability of defaulting. Our clients’ acceptable limits are individual and based on the amount of risk a consumer finance organisation is ready to accept. The definition of a good and a bad applicant differs widely based on the business model, loan lifecycle and whether the consumer finance organisation has an in-house or outsourced collection. Instantor considers this and accordingly adapts to the individual definition of each client. The same applicant can be classified differently depending on the loan amount requested, the repayment schedule and the interest rate, at the same time, the financial situation of the borrower remains constant. Here is where Instantor makes it possible to combine all our data with the known facts to make more accurate decisions and at less risk. With tailor-made classification models, consumer finance organisations can tune loan features to lower the risk and increase profitability. Instantor uses Gini and AUC scores to measure the performance of our models and the predictive power of our features. Instantor’s latest product, Insight, can improve Gini by up to 15 percentage points compared to using only traditional scoring data. Here, you can view how Insight’s new features increase both Gini and AUC for new and recurring customers, offering better predictions to help you reduce credit losses by up to 25%. Footer note [1] A classifier is an algorithm that makes a prediction about something, this could be predicting whether or not someone will get cancer, or it could predict if a loan will be good or bad. | Mid | [
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Killer Mike posted his six-part interview with presidential candidate Bernie Sanders today (December 15). The total interview spans one hour. Killer Mike starts the interview by explaining his background growing up in Atlanta before asking Sanders a question about a specific governmental system. “What is socialism and what does it mean to the Black community?” Killer Mike asks Sanders. “What it means to me, what it means to the Black community, what it means to the American community is the understanding that when we talk about rights, you have freedom of speech,” Sanders says. “You can go out on the corner and give a speech. You have the constitutional right to do that. But you know what, to be truly free, you need economic rights as well. So you can go out and give a speech, but you don’t have any food in your stomach, you don’t have a house, roof over your head, you don’t have any education, are you really free?” Elsewhere in the interview, the two discuss social security, marijuana and gun control. To watch Killer Mike’s six-part interview with presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, see below: (The original post in this thread was published December 14, 2015. It is as follows.) Killer Mike previewed his interview with Bernie Sanders on Instagram today (December 14). The Run the Jewels rapper says the full interview will be released tomorrow (December 15). The conversation took place at Killer Mike’s SWAG Shop barbershop in Atlanta. The two discuss social security, marijuana and gun control. “The federal Controlled Substance Acts, says that schedule one drug, marijuana is the same as heroin. What do you think about that?” Bernie Sanders asks in of Killer Mike’s preview clips. “I’m a marijuana smoker. That’s absolute bullshit,” Killer Mike says. Killer Mike introduced the presidential candidate last month at a rally in Atlanta. Full Convo drops tomorrow. #YeahWeDidMoreThanEatChixen #BernieSanders #FeelTheBurn #WhyDidHeGoInToSuchADirtyGame #GetYourAssInvolved #Vote #VoteLocal #RegularFolksRunForLocalOffice #CantWaitForYallToHearTheOldGuyOut A video posted by Killer Mike (@killermike) on Dec 14, 2015 at 8:02am PST #ItsAConvoNotInterview and in our convo we talked about Guns & Gucci Man #FreeGuwap #WeTalkGUNS #WeDisagreedALilButAgreedOnLots #ACitizenAndASenatorTalking #FeelTheBern #SWAGShop #TheSWAGShopOnEdgewood oh yeah Happy Belated 420 u stoners #YesIKnowGucci A video posted by Killer Mike (@killermike) on Dec 14, 2015 at 1:29pm PST For additional Killer Mike coverage, watch the following DX Daily: | High | [
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Philippe Vialatte started working at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in 1985 as a light operator on The Mahabharata and assisted on the light design for Woza Albert! and La Tempête, all directed by Peter Brook. Since 1993, he has designed the lights for Peter Brook’s plays in the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, including The Man Who. Philippe Vialatte’s work also includes Qui est là, Je suis un phénomène, Le Costume, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Far Away, La mort de Krishna, La tragédie d’Hamlet, Ta mayn dans la mienne, Tierno Bokar, Le grand Inquisiteur, Sizwe Banzi est mort, Fragments, 11 and 12, and recently, A Magic Flute, The Suit, The Valley of Astonishment, and Battlefield. He travels with these plays on tour and redesigns and adapts the lights for each space.\r\n\r\n"},"status":"SUCCESS"} | Mid | [
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Q: Font not loading in IE 9 In my CSS style sheet, the first entry is @font-face { font-family: "Font"; src: url(link) format("truetype"); } p.customfont { font-family: "Font", Verdana, Tahoma; } This is not a font commonly installed on computers. Chrome loads this font and uses it in the correct places, but IE 9 will not. Now as a lot of people still use IE, this got me worried. I tried on a lot of other computers, and chrome works fine on all, but IE also fails on all. How can I fix this? EDIT: For future reference - http://everythingfonts.com/font-face converts the ttf for you to all the formats needed, and creates the css - so a lot of time saved A: Generally you should use eot, woff, ttf and svg to support all browsers. Example: @font-face { font-family: 'font'; src: url('../fonts/font.eot'); /* IE9 Compat Modes */ src: url('../fonts/font.eot') format('embedded-opentype'), /* IE6-IE8 */ url('../fonts/font.woff') format('woff'), /* Modern Browsers */ url('../fonts/font.ttf') format('truetype'), /* Safari, Android, iOS */ url('../fonts/font.svg#PlanerRegular') format('svg'); /* Legacy iOS */ } | Mid | [
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Q: Touchscreen App, Do I need to learn a new language? I'm making a multitouch-screen app that for its function will just have to get positions of objects on the screen, have them ordered, be able to select them and drag them (sounds basic). I will also have to have a kind of history of actions so I could press the typical "Ctrl+z" and get X number of actions undone The only language I know is C++ and I have made two simple GUI programs for Windows 7 in the past. For the porpoise of my app which is meant to be used by professionals, the screen should be 14inchs or bigger, considering there are 2 O.S. that support touch-screen events: W8 and Android, and how the app needs to be (explained in the first paragraph): Should I have to learn another language to get this done? If yes, what should it be: C# or Java? By what reasons? If no, could you recommend any C++ libraries to: manage touch-events, make the GUI (both libraries should be free for commercial use). A: First of all, what do you mean there are two operating systems that support touch-screen events? What about iPhone and Blackberry? Or Google Chrome OS? In any case, I think you've got your question backwards, or I don't understand it. You do not choose a programming language and then decide your target platform. That hardly makes sense. You will usually have requirements by customers dictating the target platform, and only then you start to think about programming languages. If there are multiple target platforms, then you may choose to reimplement the same application in different programming languages for each system. Or it may turn out better to use shared native C++ or C code which can be reused, at least partially, on several platforms. These are classical software-engineering tradeoffs, and it's impossible to tell you in general what's easier or more efficient. You've tagged your question as "Android". For an Android app, you will usually want to implement as much as possible in Java and resort to native C++ or C code only if necessary. You do not use C# on Android. Mind that the often-heard assumption that native code is automatically faster is typically wrong and is made by people who do not measure but guess. Native code may be faster, but it may also be slower because of the extra indirection. However, as I said, reusability of native code on other platforms may be an important advantage and beat related disadvantages, such as reduced robustness or harder development. | Mid | [
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Disturbed myocardial calcium metabolism: a possible pathogenetic factor in the hereditary cardiomyopathy of the Syrian hamster. In the BIO 8262 inbred strain of cardiomyopathic Syrian hamsters, a latent disturbance of their myocardial calcium metabolism could be evidenced. Whereas the myocardial calcium content of untreated young cardiomyopathic hamsters with prenecrotic hearts did not differ from that of healthy control animals, it was distinctly elevated 6 hours after injection of isoproterenol (1 mg/kg body weight s.c.) in cardiomyopathic animals remaining unchanged in healthy controls. However, the same dose of isoproterenol induced elevated myocardial 45Ca uptake in both strains, although that of the cardiomyopathic hearts was distinctly greater. Later, during the stage of spontaneous progressive necrotization of the hearts, a spontaneously increased myocardial uptake of 45Ca and calcium content became manifest. By combined treatment with isoproterenol and verapamil, a substance which is known to decrease the calcium conductivity of myocardial cell membranes without blocking beta-adrenergic receptors, the isoproterenol-stimulated 45Ca uptake by prenecrotic cardiomyopathic hearts as well as the increase of their calcium content could be inhibited. Long-term treatment with verapamil alone beginning during the prenecrotic phase of the cardiac condition, was fully effective in preventing myocardial overload as well as necrotization. These findings demonstrate that overload with calcium of cardiomyopathic cells of the hamsters can be influenced beneficially. Therefore, the disturbed myocardial calcium metabolism in the hereditary cardiomyopathy of the Syrian hamster is considered a decisive pathogenetic factor. | Mid | [
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Q: C++, assignment of non-pointer type to a member pointer of template class While looking for a example of binary tree implementation, I've noticed something strange in the code provided here. In Node structure's constructor a non-pointer type variable is assigned to a pointer type. It compiles just fine (I'm using GCC 5.3.0). And what made me really confused is that compilation depends on other constructor's parameter, val. It have no effect in class methods, only in constructors: template <typename T> class Test { Test* testPtr; void testMethod(T t, Test<T> notAPointer) { // OK this->testPtr = notAPointer; } void testMethod(Test<T> notAPointer) { // OK this->testPtr = notAPointer; } Test(T t, Test<T> notAPointer) { // OK this->testPtr = notAPointer; } Test(Test<T> notAPointer) { // compilation error this->testPtr = notAPointer; } }; The compilation error I'm getting is: invalid constructor; you probably meant ‘Test (const Test&)’ Why is that happening? Where in the standard is this behaviour described? A: Your last constructor is a copy constructor. It's forbidden to have a copy constructor that passes its parameter by value, as otherwise you'd end up with infinite recursion. The error you're getting is similar to struct Foo { Foo(Foo); }; Live on Coliru More precisely, according to the standard: 12.8/2 Copying and moving class objects [class.copy] A non-template constructor for class X is a copy constructor if its first parameter is of type X&, const X&, volatile X& or const volatile X&, and either there are no other parameters or else all other parameters have default arguments (8.3.6). [ Example: X::X(const X&) and X::X(X&,int=1) are copy constructors. The others constructors/member functions seem ok because they are not instantiated, and the code is syntactically correct (in theory, Test<T> may have a conversion operator to T* for some specialization, and the compiler cannot check that before instantiation). However the copy constructor has to have a definite form, which is being enforced by the compiler. | High | [
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Send this page to someone via email Hours after alleged gunman Devin Patrick Kelley opened fire at a church in Texas, the state’s attorney general called for more firearms in churches. READ MORE: Pregnant woman and her 3 children among victims Texas church shooting Republican Ken Paxton appeared on Fox News Sunday, speaking about the shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, which left 26 dead and several others injured. Paxton voiced support for more guns in churches, saying that the religious institutions should be “arming some of the parishioners.” “If it’s a place where somebody has the ability to carry, there’s always the opportunity that the gunman will be taken out before he has the opportunity to kill very many people,” the attorney general said. Story continues below advertisement READ MORE: 26 confirmed dead after gunman opens fire in Texas church “It’s going to happen again,” Paxton added. “You can’t necessarily keep guns out of the hands of people who are going to violate the law.” “I wish some law would fix all of this,” he said. Paxton’s argument that more guns are necessary to combat gun violence is one that is often cited by the National Rifle Association (NRA). WATCH: Texas governor calls church shooting ‘act of evil’ 0:41 Texas governor calls church shooting ‘act of evil’ Texas governor calls church shooting ‘act of evil’ The NRA’s frequently used phrase is, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” The organization even sells T-shirts with the slogan. Story continues below advertisement Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump, who is in Japan, called the shooting an “act of evil.” He added the shooting was caused by a “mental health problem.” WATCH: Trump calls deadly Texas church shooting a ‘mental health’ issue 0:44 Trump calls deadly Texas church shooting a ‘mental health’ issue Trump calls deadly Texas church shooting a ‘mental health’ issue “This isn’t a guns situation,” Trump said. “This is a mental health problem at the highest level. It’s a very, very sad event.” The latest mass shooting has once again renewed calls for tighter gun laws in the U.S., with many using the hashtag #GunControlNow on social media. Users urged politicians such as Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan to move beyond offering “thoughts and prayers.” They were in a church that was full of prayers. They need a government who will enact common sense gun laws. #GunControlNow https://t.co/M1wTIe4G01 — rosanne cash (@rosannecash) November 5, 2017 They were in church. They had the prayers shot right out of them. Maybe try something else. — Michael McKean (@MJMcKean) November 5, 2017 Story continues below advertisement Clearly your prayers aren't working if a mass shooting can take place in a church. Maybe we can try a legislative solution now?#GunControl — Sara Bonaccorsi (@SNBonaccorsi) November 6, 2017 According to the Mass Shooting Tracker, mass shootings in the U.S. are becoming deadlier and more frequent. This year alone, there have been 378 mass shootings in the country, according to the Mass Shooting Tracker website. It defines mass shooting as an incident in which at least four people were shot. — With files from The Associated Press | Low | [
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Gift Cards Fashion Can't decide? Treat them to a gift card so they can choose their own fashion from dresses and skirts to knitwear and shoes. If you’re treating a lucky recipient to one of our gift cards, please note that it will be dispatched separately to the rest of your order. | Low | [
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New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has begun scrutinising a set of voluminous documents recently sent to it by American retail giant Walmart as part of its reply on a probe against the company's investment in an Indian firm for alleged violations of forex laws. The company has recently sent a detailed reply to the agency as part of communication to notices sent to it earlier under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), official sources said. "Walmart is cooperating with the government during this process. The central government has sought certain information and clarification which has been provided by us. We are in compliance with India’s FDI laws, and all procedures and processes have been duly followed and details filed with relevant Indian government authorities, including the Reserve Bank of India," a Walmart India spokesperson told in a statement. The company, in the reply, has detailed the RBI clearances and other transactions that it has conducted in the country, the sources said. The ED is investigating the case on the basis of a communication sent to it by the RBI in this regard. The agency is also expected to place these facts before the Madras High Court soemtime this month as part of its reply on a writ petition in relation to Walmart. The agency, which has registered a case under FEMA, has also sought certain details from the Commerce and Industry Ministry to furnish it with clearances that were given to the company to route the investment in 2010 in a subsidiary of Bharti ventures via a Mauritian arm. The investigations are being conducted to probe allegations that Walmart put money into the domestic multi-brand retail chain despite a ban on foreign direct investment in the sector. Bharti Enterprises has, however, rejected the allegations that it had violated any rule in this regard. The company had said all the procedures were as per the "law of the land". The Rs 455.8 crore investment by Walmart in Cedar Support Services Ltd, a subsidiary of Bharti Ventures, had come under attack from CPI Rajya Sabha member M P Achuthan, who wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier, saying it was "illegal" and flouted FDI rules. The ED, a central investigative agency mandated to probe violations under the FEMA and Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), was asked by the Reserve Bank of India to check the alleged violations made by the US-based retail giant in an official communication earlier this month. In a letter dated October 30, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) had asked that RBI may take action as appropriate as per provisions of FEMA rules and regulations. The DIPP deals with all the FDI related matters. "...there is a need to examine/investigate as to whether illegal investments have been made by Walmart/CEDAR in FDI prohibited sectors. Accordingly, the matter is being referred to ED for further investigation and appropriate action, if necessary, in consultation with the government in accordance with the provisions of FEMA upon noticing violations if any," a source said. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Achuthan, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of Parliament on IT, earlier this year had alleged that "the entire FDI has been diverted and illegally invested by Cedar in its 100 per cent subsidiary Bharti Retail Ltd, which is carrying out multi-brand retail operations." Walmart had earlier said that it was also investigating allegations of corrupt practices against it in foreign markets, including India. | Mid | [
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Beatrice Black BearThe World's Wettest Dam Photographer by John Grandits, illustrated by Brian Floca Image: There is a picture of a bear, with a camera, standing at the base of a large dam and gesturing towards the top. Bear says, “I'm taking pictures at Lake Powell in Arizona. That huge wall is a dam built across the Colorado River. It holds back the water to create the lake. “Dams do a lot of work. They help make electricity, and people use lake water for drinking and farming.” Image: There is a picture of a bear with swimming goggles, and overlays of a person sailboarding, and of three children playing in the water. Bear says, “But when the work is done, it's time for fun! The lake is great for sailboarding… or swimming with your friends.” Image: There is picture of a bear water skiing in a human pyramid. The women on the bear's shoulders have started to fall. Bear says, “Water skiing is the best, but it's not as easy as it looks!” Activity What did building a dam across the Colorado River do to the river?[anno: It held back part of the river and made a lake.] Why is there a dam across the Colorado River?[anno: The dam helps make electricity. The lake provides people with fresh water for drinking and farming.] What would it be like to visit a dam? Write a sentence or two to tell what it might be like to visit a dam. What would you see and hear? If you have visited a dam, write about what it was like.[anno: Answers will vary. Students may write about seeing a lot of water and hearing a rush of water when the dam is opened.] | Mid | [
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Fauna of Louisiana The fauna of the State of Louisiana is characterized by the region’s low swamplands, bayous, creeks, woodlands, coastal marshlands and beaches, and barrier islands covering an estimated 20,000 square miles (counting for 40 percent of Louisiana's total land area). Southern Louisiana contains up to fifty percent of the wetlands found in the Continental United States, and are made up of countless bayous and creeks. The Creole State has a humid subtropical climate, perhaps the best example of a humid subtropical climate of all the Southern United States with long, humid and hot summers and short, mild winters. The subtropical characteristics of the state are due in large part to the influence of the Gulf of Mexico, which at its farthest point is no more than 200 miles away. Louisiana's varied habitats — tidal marshes, bayous, swamps, woodlands, islands, forests, and prairies — offer a diversity of wildlife. Some of the most common animals found throughout all of the parishes include otter, deer, mink, muskrat, raccoons, opossums, rabbits, squirrels, nutria, turtles, alligators, woodcocks, skunks, foxes, beavers, civet cats, armadillos, coyotes and bobcats. Deer, squirrel, rabbit, and bear are hunted as game, while muskrat, snakes, nutria, mink, opossum, bobcat, and skunk are commercially significant for fur. Prized game birds include quail, turkey, woodcock, and various waterfowl, of which the mottled duck and wood duck are native. There are several endemic plants and animals in Louisiana that are found nowhere else on Earth; an example could be the Louisiana bluestar or the white leucistic alligator. The Pearl river map turtle and the Ringed map turtle are only found in Louisiana and neighboring State of Mississippi. Louisiana contains a number of areas which are, in varying degrees, protected from human intervention. In addition to National Park Service sites and areas and the Kisatchie National Forest, Louisiana operates a system of state parks, state historic sites, one state preservation area, one state forest, and many Wildlife Management Areas. The Nature Conservancy also owns and manages a set of natural areas. State ecology Much of the state's lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh and swamp. The northern parts of Louisiana mostly consist of woodlands which are home to deer, squirrels, rabbits, bears, muskrats, mink, opossums, bobcats, and skunks. Louisiana's forests offer a mix of oak, pine, beech, black walnut, and cypress trees. In the Piney Woods in the Ark-La-Tex-region, Mammals such as the North American cougar, gray fox, feral hogs (razorback), and snakes such as the western cottonmouth, the western worm snake, the Louisiana pine snake, as well as other animals are common. Louisiana’s largest forest, the Kisatchie National Forest in the forested hills of Central Louisiana, has 155 species of breeding birds, 48 mammal species, 56 reptile species and 30 amphibian species. It is some 600,000 acres in area, more than half of which is vital flatwoods vegetation, which supports many rare plant and animal species. These include for instance the Louisiana pine snake, the red-cockaded woodpecker, the Louisiana black bear and the Louisiana pearlshell. Alligators are common in Louisiana's extensive swamps, bogs, creeks, lakes, rivers, wetlands, and bayous. Other water-loving reptiles such as the alligator snapping turtle live in the Louisiana swamps. The alligator snapping turtle is characterized by a very large head and three rows of spiked scutes. These wetlands of Louisiana make ideal homes for several species of turtles, crawfish and catfish - all of which are popular Acadian foods. Jambalaya, a Louisiana Creole dish that originated among the Cajuns in Acadiana, is made entirely by all sorts of meat found in the swampland of southern Louisiana: crawfish, herons, shellfish, catfish, toads, frogs, shrimp, oysters, alligator, duck, turtle, boar, venison, and myriad other species. Among invasive species that thrive in the wetlands of Louisiana is the nutria, a South American rodent that was likely introduced when individual animals escaped from fur farms. Mammals Forty species of mammals reside in Louisiana, excluding marine mammals. Seventy mammal species have been recorded in Louisiana or its immediate adjacent waters. Louisiana has for instance two species of squirrels: gray squirrels and fox squirrels, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Louisiana has two species of rabbits: eastern cottontails and swamp rabbits. Although the cottontail is considered more of an upland species and the swamp rabbit a wetland species, both species occur throughout the state. Rabbits have high productive rates in Louisiana when habitat and weather conditions are good. Louisiana black bear The Louisiana black bear once ranged throughout the State of Louisiana and parts of adjacent neighboring Mississippi, Arkansas, and Texas. The black bear was common at the time of early colonization, serving as food for Native Americans for generations. An 1890 record shows 17 parishes containing bears, all of them by the Mississippi-border and the Atchafalaya region. It was reported that the most extensive areas of bottomland hardwoods in the state have “at least a few bears”, with the greatest number found in the denser woodlands along the Tensas, Red, Black, and Atchafalaya Rivers. In the late 1950s, bears occupied habitat in the Tensas-Madison area in northeast Louisiana and in the lower fringes of the Atchafalaya Basin. Today, black bears can be found in all of Louisiana, but according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, most black bears are observed in a confined region made up of the following parishes: West- and East Carroll, Richland, Franklin, Madison, Tensas, Catahoula, Concordia, Avoyelles, Pointe Coupee, St. Landry, Vermilion, Iberia, as well as both St. Martin and St. Mary. Black bear could be legally hunted in parts of Louisiana through the late 1980s. One of the last organized bear hunts in Louisiana occurred December 15, 1955. During this hunt, five bears were harvested in the Lake Providence area. It was recommended to the Wildlife Commission that the bear season be closed. Bear hunting was closed the following season and remained closed until 1961. The season was opened again from 1962-1965 with hunting permitted only in northeast Louisiana and in the coastal parishes. The hunting season was again closed from 1966 to 1974. It was reopened in 1975-1987 with hunting restricted to the Atchafalaya Basin. The Louisiana bear hunting season has remained closed since 1988. From 1964 through 1967, 161 black bears were live-trapped in Cook County, Minnesota and released in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River bottoms of Louisiana in an effort to restock black bear to the state. By 1968 there was evidence that the translocated bears were reproducing. However, most of the relocated bears were killed on roads, as nuisance animals, or during recapture. As of 2016, Louisiana black bears are no longer endangered. Reptiles The American alligator is the official state reptile of Louisiana. Perhaps the most iconic of Louisiana wetlands' animals, the American alligator has bounced back from near extinction to being relatively commonplace. An abundance of snake species make their home in Louisiana, including the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, Texas coral snake, eastern yellowbelly racer, mud snake, western pigmy rattlesnake, northern scarlet snake, rainbow snake, buttermilk racer, tan racer, western cottonmouth, red cornsnake, pit vipers and kingsnake. America's largest freshwater turtle, the alligator snapping turtle, shares the habitat with its cousin, the common snapping turtle. The green American chameleon also lives in the wetlands, along with the lizard-like tiger salamander, which is an amphibian. Other examples of reptiles in Louisiana are the gopher tortoise, razor-backed musk turtle, broad-headed skink, coal skink and the slender glass lizard. According to the Louisiana Alligator Council, there are over one million alligators in the state in 2014 and the number is continuously increasing. Alligators like swamps, rivers, lakes or wherever they can have an adequate habitat. Louisiana has several varieties of venomous snakes. The eastern coral snake, Texas coral snake, copperhead, western cottonmouth, western pygmy rattlesnake, and the eastern diamondback rattlesnake and canebrake rattlesnake can all be found in Louisiana. The largest reported American alligator was a male killed in 1890 on Marsh Island in Louisiana, and reportedly measured at . Birds Approximately 160 species of birds are year-round residents or probable confirmed breeders in Louisiana and another 244 are known to regularly migrate through or winter in the state or its immediate adjacent waters. There are 69 species on the CWCS species of conservation concern list of which 42 species are considered critically threatened, imperiled or rare, according to the Louisiana Natural Heritage Program. Shorebirds and songbirds constitute the majority of species. In 1902, the eastern brown pelican was made a part of the Seal of Louisiana and, ten years later, in 1912, the pelican and her young adorned the flag of Louisiana as well. The official nickname of Louisiana is the Pelican State. In 1958, the pelican was made the official state bird of Louisiana. This act was amended on July 26, 1966 to specifically designate the brown pelican, the National Basketball Association's New Orleans Pelicans are named in honor of Louisiana's state bird. The eastern brown pelican is also the national bird of Barbados and the Turks and Caicos Islands, it is also one of the mascots of Tulane University and is on the seals of Tulane University, Louisiana State University and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Shore birds are abundant in Louisiana and the most common is the great white egret. This large, all-white heron has an impressive wingspan and stature. The egret occurs often in the wetlands of Louisiana and coastal areas that provides it with plenty of fish, amphibians and small mammals to feast on. This bird is also the official symbol of the National Audubon Society. The American bald eagle nests in southeastern coastal parishes and, occasionally on large lakes in northern and central parishes, but these nests are less successful. Some of America's tallest birds, such as the great blue heron and great egret, cannot resist the fishing opportunities that exist in the Louisiana swampland. Raptors such as the osprey, American black vulture and barred owl live in the marshes of southern Louisiana. Migratory waterfowl and songbirds often make stopovers or actually spend the winter in these wetlands. Amphibians The American green tree frog was designated the official state amphibian of Louisiana in 1993. Examples of other amphibians in Louisiana are salamanders such as the eastern tiger salamander, southern red-backed salamander, Gulf Coast waterdog, dwarf salamander and the three-toed amphiuma. There are also toads such as Hurter's spadefoot toad and southern toad, as well as frogs such as pig frog, striped chorus frog and the bronze frog. American bullfrogs are the largest frogs native to Louisiana. Fish The white perch, sometimes called sac au lait from Cajun French, was designated the official state fish of Louisiana in 1993. Coastal beaches are inhabited by sea turtles, and whales are often seen from offshore. Freshwater fish include bass, crappie, and bream. Red and white crawfishes are the leading commercial crustaceans. Many sharks have been observed in Louisiana waters; including, but not limited to lemon sharks, tiger sharks, bull sharks and blacktip sharks. The sharks, for instance the bull shark, have often been observed throughout the Atchafalaya Basin, 900 miles up the Mississippi River, and in inland bayous and wetlands. The alligator gar and the frecklebelly madtom, which is native to Pearl River in Southeastern Louisiana, are two additional species of fish in Louisiana. The bowfin, known by many other names such as the mudfish, dogfish, grinnel, grindel, jack, jackfish, cypress trout, cotton fish, and in South Louisiana; choupique (pronounced shoe-pick or shoe-peg), or chew-pic, is found in many areas of Louisiana. Endangered species Threatened animal species include five species of sea turtles: green, hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, leatherback, and loggerhead). Twenty-three Louisiana animal species were on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's threatened and endangered species list for 2003. Among those listed are the Louisiana black bear, American bald eagle, Inflated heelsplitter, and red-cockaded woodpecker. The Louisiana WAP identifies 240 species of concern. The mountain lion population in Louisiana is small but growing in recent times. There is a relatively small and threatened population of Louisiana black bears. The historic range of the Florida panther extended from Florida to Louisiana throughout the Gulf Coast states and Arkansas. Today, the only place with wild Florida panthers is the southwestern tip of Florida. The Florida panther is considered of historical occurrence in Louisiana. The historic range included as far west as Western Louisiana and the East Lower Mississippi River Valley through the southeastern states. Even though numerous sighting reports continue to surface annually throughout its historic range, it is unlikely that viable populations of the Florida panther presently occur outside of the State of Florida. The Louisiana Black Bear has been taken off the endangered species list. Mississippi diamondback terrapin is recognized as a “species of concern” in Louisiana, but is found on the Mississippi-border. Invasive species Coypu Tabasco tycoon and naturalist Edward McIlhenny brought thirteen adult coypu from Argentina to his home in New Iberia, during the 1930s, for the fur farming industry. Two years later, one hundred and fifty got out of the pen, supposedly escaping during a storm. The nutria reproduced at a high rate, increasing by the thousands every year. By the 1960s the number ranged to as high as twenty million, and increasing. By the time the government instituted a control program, the coypu was destroying Louisiana marshes and wetlands, causing widespread erosion. In the 21st century, the coypu is one of the most common and despised pests in the Bayou State. The story of the nutria is not unique. Many species of birds, mammals, fish, and plants have been introduced into the Louisiana environment in the past two centuries. Exotic species, or species that have been introduced to areas outside their native range, take heavy tolls on the ecosystems they colonize. Some invaders, such as the leafy vine kudzu (Pueria lobelia), destroy the habitat for resident wildlife. Other species fiercely compete with native plants and animals for resources. By some estimates, exotic species pose the second most serious threat to endangered species after habitat loss. Nutria were introduced into coastal marshes from Latin America in the mid-1900s, and their population has since exploded into the millions. They cause serious damage to coastal marshes and may dig burrows in levees. Hence, Louisiana has had a bounty to try to reduce nutria numbers. Large alligators feed heavily on nutria, so alligators may not only control nutria populations in Louisiana, but also prevent them spreading east into Florida and possibly the Everglades. Since hunting and trapping preferentially take the large alligators that are the most important in eating nutria, some changes in harvesting may be needed to capitalize on their ability to control nutria. Monk parakeet An agricultural pest in its native South American range, the monk parakeet was first brought to the U.S. as a cage bird. They were so popular that over 60,000 were imported between 1969 and 1972. By the 1980s it had already been released in many parts of the country and had established small breeding colonies. Twenty years later, monk parakeet numbers have increased exponentially but their distribution remains spotty. Monk parakeets tend to be restricted to urban areas where they feed and nest in ornamental palm trees, occupying a niche that no indigenous bird holds. So far, their distribution in Louisiana has been limited almost exclusively to the City of New Orleans, where they have had no adverse effects on local wildlife. If their numbers increase, however, monk parakeets could pose a serious threat to agricultural areas, possibly becoming as much of a pest here as they already are in their native range. Red Fire Ant Because of its tropical climate and its proximity to Mexico and Central America, Louisiana is able to support many invasive species that cannot survive elsewhere in the U.S. One such example is the red fire ant. Native to South America, the red fire ant has flourished in many southern U.S. states since its introduction in the 1930s. Superficially similar to most other ants, the fire ant is a vicious predator, attacking birds, rodents, and larger mammals in swarms. One study of white-tailed deer found that death rates for young deer were twice as high in areas with fire ants as in uninfested areas. In Louisiana, the spread of fire ants has been linked to the decline of the loggerhead shrike and some species of warblers. The red fire ant has replaced nearly half the native insect species in some areas it has colonised. See also Fauna of the United States References F01 .L | Mid | [
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# Skunk @@@index * [Tutorial](tutorial/Index.md) * [Reference](reference/Index.md) @@@ ## Overview - Skunk is a [Postgres](https://www.postgresql.org) library for [Scala](https://www.scala-lang.org). - Skunk is powered by [cats](http://typelevel.org/cats/), [cats-effect](https://typelevel.org/cats-effect/), [scodec](http://scodec.org), and [fs2](https://fs2.io). - Skunk is purely functional, non-blocking, and provides a tagless-final API. - Skunk gives very good error messages. - Skunk embraces the [Scala Code of Conduct](http://scala-lang.org/conduct.html). - **Skunk is pre-release software!** Code and documentation are under active development! Skunk is published for Scala $scala-versions$ and can be included in your project thus: @@dependency[sbt,Maven,Gradle] { group="$org$" artifact="$core-dep$" version="$version$" } @@dependencies { projectId="core" } ## How to Learn Prerequisites: - We assume you are comfortable with Postgres. - We assume you are comfortable with [cats](http://typelevel.org/cats/), [cats-effect](https://typelevel.org/cats-effect/), and [fs2](https://fs2.io). - If not, give it a try anyway! If you run into trouble the linked websites have many learning resources. To learn about Skunk: - Read the @ref:[Tutorial](tutorial/Index.md). - Peruse the @ref:[Reference](tutorial/Index.md) material. Other resources: - Come chat on the [Gitter Channel](https://gitter.im/skunk-pg/Lobby). - Skunk is featured in the book [*Practical FP in Scala*](https://leanpub.com/pfp-scala) by [Gabriel Volpe](https://twitter.com/volpegabriel87). - [tpolecat](https://twitter.com/tpolecat) did a [talk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJrgj1vQeAI) on Skunk's architecture at Scala Days 2019 at EPFL. Reference documentation: - Skunk [API Documentation](https://javadoc.io/doc/org.tpolecat/skunk-core_$scala.binary.version$/$version$/index.html). - [Postgres](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/) documentation. ## How to Contribute - Test it out! - If you see a typo in the doc, click the link at the bottom and fix it! - If you find a bug, open an issue (or fix it and open a PR) at our [GitHub Repository](https://github.com/tpolecat/skunk). - If you want to make a larger contribution please open an issue first so we can discuss. | Mid | [
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POWER GRAB! Mayor Michael Bloomberg's expected October 2 announcement to take on a third term as mayor will turn New York City's 2009 election season upside down. The most controversial, but probably least forbidding, obstacle for Bloomberg to reach a third term is getting the City Council to amend current legislation that limits New York City elected officials to two terms. With two-thirds of City Council members facing the prospect of getting the boot at the end of 2009,the expectation is easy passage of such an amendment, even over the vocal few who are against it. Brooklyn City Councilman Charles Barron vehemently opposes the amendment and has vowed to vote "No" if it comes before the City Council. "The people have spoken in 1993 and in 1996 on the issue of term limits. We should not make an end run around the will of the people with this amendment. Why would we want to extend Bloomberg's term anyway, when the only people who have benefited from his policies are the rich? City Comptroller Billy Thompson would be a much better caretaker for this city," said Barron. "Bloomberg is saying that his business experience can see the city through this current financial crisis--this financial melt-down happened under his watch!" When asked if he would entertain the possibility of running for a third term if an amendment passes, Barron said he would hold a massive town hall meeting and let his constituents decide whether or not he should run for his seat again. Thompson has been very vocal about this opposition to an amendment to extend term limits. He said, "There is still a two-term maximum, and I intend to run for mayor in 2009." In a further statement, Thompson characterized such legislation as self-serving on the part of City Council members and doubted that New York specifically needs Bloomberg to get beyond the financial crisis. "Any attempt to change term limits must be done by voter referendum. A backdoor deal undermines the will of New Yorkers. New York City can and will survive when leadership changes. We have faced fiscal crises before, and a number of new leaders stepped into office only a few months after the September 11 attacks, when New York City's economy was in a downward spiral. Democracy is bigger than any one person." Former city Public Advocate Mark Green, who ran against Bloomberg in 2001,condemned the mayor's proposed action as an attempt to "veto" the vote of 8 million voters. He called the move "an antidemocratic, self-dealing power grab." Bloomberg gunning for a third term will have a ripple effect on other elections. It is widely believed that Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is planning on making a run for city comptroller in 2009, and if he does that, City Councilman Robert Jackson would run for Manhattan borough president. But if Thompson stays put instead of running for mayor and Stringer decides to try for a second term as BP, Jackson told the AmNews that he would not run against Stringer and would instead try to essentially office swap with Assemblyman Denny Farrell. When asked how Bloomberg running for a third term would affect his 2009 plans, Stringer had this to say: "My immediate focus right now is to do the best job I can as Manhattan borough president and to work towards electing Barack Obama as president of the United States." State Senator Bill Perkins, a former New York City Council member, told the AmNews that he has always been against term limits, but is opposed to the manner in which the term limits extension is being handled. "It is obscene and wrong to accommodate an individual just because he's wealthy and other wealthy people want him to serve them. The fact of the matter is this is not a call for more democracy. This is a call for more oligarchy. It's the wealthy business class wanting someone from their class to serve them," said Perkins, noting his view that though city council members would benefit from a term-limit extension, this particular action is primarily for Mayor Bloomberg. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, ho is another mayoral hopeful, did not return a request for comment, but has gone on record previously in opposition to extending term limits without a voter referendum. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's expected October 2 announcement to take on a third term as mayor will turn New York City's 2009 election season upside down. The most controversial, but probably least forbidding, obstacle for Bloomberg to reach a third term is getting the City Council to amend current legislation that limits New York City elected officials to two terms. With two-thirds of City Council members facing the prospect of getting the boot at the end of 2009,the expectation is easy passage of such an amendment, even over the vocal few who are against it. | Low | [
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Education has long been considered an important part of the U.S. foreign assistance strategy. There is general agreement that education is crucial to bettering livelihoods and improving economic stability in developing countries. According to the World Bank, an increase of one standard deviation in student reading and math scores is associated with an increase of two percentage points in annual gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth. Access to and quality of education continues to pose a challenge to foreign aid donors. Approximately 263 million children and youth worldwide do not attend school. For those who attend school, the quality of education is lacking—one estimate suggests that 25% of children who complete four years of primary school have not learned basic literacy and numeracy skills. This all sounds good, but what about our own education system? A recent report from the Clarion Project shows a huge amount of foreign funding that comes from countries like China, Qatar, and Russia. Six prominent U.S. universities failed to report a combined total of 1.3 billion in foreign funding, according to the Department of Education (DOE). The universities named by the Department of Education were Georgetown, Texas A&M, Cornell, Rutgers, the University of Maryland and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A recent letter sent to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (part of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee) by the Department of Education’s deputy general counsel, Reed Rubinstein, described preliminary results of an investigation into the six universities. The letter notes that for years these universities failed to report $1.3 billion in foreign funding “despite their clear legal duty to do so.” Under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, U.S. universities are required to disclose “contracts with or gifts from the same foreign source that, alone or combined, have a value of $250,000 or more for a calendar year; and/or if the institution is owned or controlled by a foreign source.” The letter describes foreign donations to U.S. schools as “a black hole” because U.S. colleges and universities “routinely” fail to report foreign money (in fact, nearly 70% of colleges and universities fail to report foreign funding). The letter also notes that “Qatari ‘donations’ to American colleges and universities are made strategically to advance Qatari interests.” For years, the government of Qatar has engaged in an extensive influence operation on American campuses. For example, Qatar gave over $340 million to Northwestern University to promote a partnership between Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and Al Jazeera and to help train future “journalists.” Al-Jazeera, the most influential Islamist extremist propaganda outlet in the world, is essentially an arm of the Qatari government. Al Jazeera has a long history of spreading anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism and support for terrorist groups. This includes glorifying Osama bin Laden and other terrorist leaders. A recent Clarion Project report exposed that U.S. universities have received $10 billion in foreign funding since 2012. A massive amount of that funding comes from foreign governments (and government-tied entities) that run influence operations in the U.S. to try to mold public opinion and policy.Qatar is the most sizable donor to U.S. universities. According to the reported DOE data, the Qatari regime has given close to $1.5 billion to 28 universities throughout the U.S. in the form of monetary gifts and contracts since 2012. The Clarion Project also exposed how disclosure of foreign funding can be avoided with simple evasive measures. We showed how the Iranian regime used a well-known front to send donations to about 30 universities in the U.S. and Canada. These donations, for example, do not show up in the Education Department records of foreign funding. In a recent interview with The Washington Examiner, DOE Secretary Betsy DeVos noted that this is just the beginning of the DOE’s investigations. “We’re going to continue to raise the flag on this, and we think, just given what we’ve seen scratching the surface, there’s a lot there that has gone undetected,” DeVos said. The investigations began in June with probes into foreign funding at Georgetown and Texas A&M. The investigations are the latest example of how colleges and universities have found themselves in the cross fire of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration and American foreign policy. International enrollment has declined, visa delays have increased, and foreign students and staff members have been denied entry. America, it’s time, to be honest with ourselves and admit that we have an education problem — if not a full-blown crisis — on our hands, the likes of which is preventing us from reaching our full potential both individually and collectively. We should accept donations from donors and countries that are approved by the U.S. | Mid | [
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Hi Joseph, I understand your logic. I guess it's just a difference in what we consider more intuitive. I think in terms of ascending order, so lowest (in value) to highest. Also I wanted it to keep the same logic for the usual colormaps in MATLAB. If I already had a colormap, and I wanted to "vivid-ify" it, I may want to do: cm = colormap; colormap(vivid(cm)); But this would flip it. By the way, I have highlighted this entry on this week's Pick of the Week: http://blogs.mathworks.com/pick/2011/12/09/a-vivid-colormap/ @Jiro, thank you. In regards to your example, it is not a bug if it was intentional. :o) I thought it was more intuitive to input colors top-to-bottom so that if inputs are provided in a "rainbow order", users would not have to think about the color sequence in reverse. For example: >> colormap(vivid('royg')); would have red on top and green on the bottom, which I thought made more sense than: >> colormap(vivid('gyor')) However, if you do not like this feature, you can replace line 136 with the following: >> rgb = repmat(reshape(clrs,1,nc,3),ns,1); ...where I just removed the call to flipud. | Mid | [
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Q: Calculate Polygon area in planar units (e.g. square-meters) in Shapely I am using Python 3.4 and shapely 1.3.2 to create a Polygon object out of a list of long/lat coordinate pairs which I transform into a well-known-text string in order to parse them. Such a Polygon might look like: POLYGON ((-116.904 43.371, -116.823 43.389, -116.895 43.407, -116.908 43.375, -116.904 43.371)) Since shapely does not handle any projections and implements all geometry objects in the carthesian space, calling the area method on that polygon like: poly.area gives me the area of that polygon in the unit of square-degrees. To get the area in a planar unit like square-meters, I guess that I would have to transform the coordinates of the polygon using a different projection (which one?). I read several times that the pyproj library should provide the way to do this. Using pyproj, is there a way to transform a whole shapely Polygon object into another projection and then calculate the area? I do some other stuff with my Polygons (not what you think now) and only in certain cases, I need to calculate the area. So far, I only found this example: http://all-geo.org/volcan01010/2012/11/change-coordinates-with-pyproj/ which would mean splitting each Polygon object into its outer and, if present, inner rings, grab the coordinates, transform each pair of coordinates into another projection and rebuild the Polygon object, then calculate its area (what unit is it then anyway?). This looks like a solution, but is not very practical. Any better ideas? A: Ok, I finally made it with the Basemap toolkit of the matplotlib library. I will explain how it works, maybe this will be helpful for somebody sometime. 1. Download and install the matplotlib library on your system. http://matplotlib.org/downloads.html For Windows binaries, I recommend using this page: http://www.lfd.uci.edu/~gohlke/pythonlibs/#matplotlib Beware of the hint that says: Requires numpy, dateutil, pytz, pyparsing, six, and optionally pillow, pycairo, tornado, wxpython, pyside, pyqt, ghostscript, miktex, ffmpeg, mencoder, avconv, or imagemagick. Hence, if not already installed on your system, you have to download and install numpy, dateutil, pytz, pyparsing and six as well for matplotlib to work properly (for Windows users: all of them can be found on the page, for Linux users, the python package manager "pip" should do the trick). 2. Download and install the "basemap" toolkit for matplotlib. Either from http://matplotlib.org/basemap/users/installing.html or for Windows binaries also from here: http://www.lfd.uci.edu/~gohlke/pythonlibs/#basemap 3. Do the projection in your Python code: #Import necessary libraries from mpl_toolkits.basemap import Basemap import matplotlib.pyplot as plt import numpy as np #Coordinates that are to be transformed long = -112.367 lat = 41.013 #Create a basemap for your projection. Which one you use is up to you. #Some examples can be found at http://matplotlib.org/basemap/users/mapsetup.html m = Basemap(projection='sinu',lon_0=0,resolution='c') #Project the coordinates: projected_coordinates = m(long,lat) Output: projected_coordinates (10587117.191355567, 14567974.064658936) Simple as that. Now, when using the projected coordinates to build a polygon with shapely and then calculating the area via shapely's area method, you'll get the area in the unit of square-meters (according to the projection you used). To get square-kilometers, divide by 10^6. Edit: I struggled hard not to transform only single coordinates, but whole geometry objects like Polygons when those were already given as shapely objects and not via their raw coordinates. This meant writing a lot of code to get the coordinates of the outer ring of the polygon determine if the polygon has holes and if so, process each hole seperately transform each pair of coordinates of the outer ring and any holes put the whole thing back together and create a polygon object with the projected coordinates and that's only for polygons... add even more loops to this for multipolygons and geometrycollections Then I stumbled upon this part of the shapely documentation which makes things a lot easier: http://toblerity.org/shapely/manual.html#shapely.ops.transform When the projection map is set, for example as done above: m = Basemap(width=1,height=1, resolution='l',projection='laea',lat_ts=50,lat_0=50,lon_0=-107.) Then, one can transform any shapely geometry object using this projection via: from shapely.ops import transform projected_geometry = transform(m,geometry_object) | Mid | [
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Q: Queuable job - hitting Apex CPU limit I am using a batch job to process records and write it into a file in the finish method.This is failing for large data. Apex CPU limit is hit by the code from the finish method. To counter this, I created an Apex Queuable job which does the job of writing the contents into a file.I am invoking this job from the finish method. Apex CPU limits are still hit. How should this issue be solved? Any ideas, highly appreciated. Trying to explain again: My code is too long to be posted here. I have a batch class to go over a large number of records. The information from the data collected in the execute method of the batch class is processed & the summary is written into a file in the finish method of the batch class. When the number of records is high, the data to process is also high thus exceeding CPU limit in the finish method where it is writing the processed information into a file. global void finish(Database.BatchableContext BC){ ID jobID = System.enqueueJob(new InvExtractWriteQueuable(mapOfBillInv)); } To overcome this, I have written a queuable job & calling from the finish method of the batch class. The queuable job is passed the data from the finish method of the batch job. The queuable job extracts the data and writes it into a file. I thought that coding in a Queuable would save me from the Apex CPU limit, but I am getting the same error again in the Queuable class. A: you should look into optimizing your code on why it is consuming so much cpu time.. Alternatively If there no room for optimization then you can distribute the processing and implement job chaining. I would distribute the processing in first batch class's batch chunks and make the each batch processing independent if possible. | Mid | [
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Q: Task.WaitAll, how to find the tasks causing AggregateException Let's say that I got the following code: var tasks = BuildTaskList(); try { Task.WaitAll(tasks.ToArray()); } catch (AggregateException exception) { } How do I know which task threw which of the exceptions in exception.InnerExceptions? A: You still have the list of Tasks, and each Task has an Exception property. Using that you can figure out which exceptions belong with which Task. But, if you can, it'd be better to use Task.WhenAll or TaskFactory.ContinueWhenAll than do a blocking Wait. | Mid | [
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Giatas honored by administrative professionals group Fran L. Giatas was recently selected as the 2013 Administrative Professional of the Year by the Providence chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals. Giatas is employed as the executive assistant to the president of Care New England Health System, and in the past was the senior executive assistant to the president of Butler Hospital. She has served 31 years in high-level leadership positions, acting as the prime contact for board trustees and corporation members in both roles. Giatas joined IAAP in January 2011 and has since assisted on various committees and served as treasurer and chair of the bylaw committee. During her tenure with the chapter, she has been designated as a member of excellence and has also received the “be the best” award from the New England district director of IAAP. Giatas holds the certified administrative professional designation. Giatas honored by administrative professionals group I work among … true professionals who are at the top of their game. Posted: Saturday, May 11, 2013 12:05 am Fran L. Giatas was recently selected as the 2013 Administrative Professional of the Year by the Providence chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals. Giatas is employed as the executive assistant to the president of Care New England Health System, and in the past was the senior executive assistant to the president of Butler Hospital. She has served 31 years in high-level leadership positions, acting as the prime contact for board trustees and corporation members in both roles. Giatas joined IAAP in January 2011 and has since assisted on various committees and served as treasurer and chair of the bylaw committee. During her tenure with the chapter, she has been designated as a member of excellence and has also received the “be the best” award from the New England district director of IAAP. Giatas holds the certified administrative professional designation. PBN: Can you tell us a little about the award selection criteria? GIATAS: The criteria for the Administrative Professional of the Year award [includes the submission of] a 26-question application, which covers the details of one’s professional history, as well as current position and accomplishments to date. Also covered is what the individual contributes to the IAAP, as well as to the community at large. PBN: What do you enjoy about your job? GIATAS: As the executive assistant to the president of Care New England Health System, my job is diverse and challenging. I am privileged to be one of the main contacts for our board of directors, which I find very rewarding. I work among a group of true professionals who are at the top of their game and from whom I consistently learn in an environment that is ever-changing. PBN: You’re actively involved with the Providence chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals. What are some of the perks of belonging to this organization? GIATAS: Membership within the IAAP offers educational opportunities through seminars, webinars and workshops at various annual meetings. It offers certification in administrative professional skills and specialty skills. Leadership development is available through the chairing of and participation on committees, the holding of offices and project assignments. Networking and mentoring opportunities are also readily available. • Get the most up-to-date data on the Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts business community from the PBN List Center. Download and purchase PBN Lists as well as the complete Book of Lists in Excel format. | Mid | [
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BOSTON (CBS) – Adam Jones and Rich Keefe were broadcasting live from the TD Garden Thursday night for the NBA Draft, and joining them on the show after the team’s first round picks were made was former Celtics great and radio broadcaster Cedric Maxwell. The Celtics possessed two picks, both in the first round, and both of them were used on guards: Marcus Smart (no. 6 overall/Oklahoma State) and James Young (no. 17 overall/Kentucky). Maxwell senses something’s gotta give. “I think that you have a gluttony of guards now, so you’re talking about somebody possibly moving, doing something else. There has to be somebody that maybe moves. You have all these guys who were apart of what you were doing guard-wise — who do you move?” said Max Jones responded with, “Well, who do you move?” “I think it depends on what your future is. Are you going to extend Rajon Rondo? Are you going to have Rondo for another year or are you going to give him $100 million dollars? What direction are you going to go? Are you all of a sudden going to go young, get your asset for Rondo and send him on the market and possibly get something back good in the draft? Continue to be young, it looks like that’s where the Celtics are heading.” Owner Wyc Grousbeck said Thursday night that selecting Marcus Smart, a point guard, has no bearing on the status of Rajon Rondo. Ainge told Toucher & Rich Friday morning that the two can “absolutely” play together, along with Avery Bradley, on the court at the same time. Max doesn’t envision this logjam of point guard as a problem inside the locker room, but he gets the sense that someone is getting dealt. “If you’re a true professional you just go out and do what you need to do. Go out and play hard, let the team do what they’re gonna do and make sure you’re in the best shape,” Max said.”You have to anticipate, because the Celtics are taking these guards right now, that they’re possibly thinking about doing something else as far as the movement of basketball players.” Fans hoping and praying for Kevin Love to come to Boston through a draft night deal were probably disappointed and didn’t expect the Celtics to actually use their two first round picks, but Max says the big trades have yet to occur because teams around the league are waiting for the LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony dominoes to fall. | Mid | [
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