She's been offered the role of Glinda the Good Witch on the live NBC musical, according to E!. But if Beyoncé rejects the part, it may go to Orange Is the New Black's Uzo Aduba.
The former president will sit with the famed astrophysicist for the Season 2 premiere in October.
The Big Bang Theory star will play a charming hedge fund manager whom Mindy's parents think is the perfect match for an arranged marriage.
Legend will oversee the score, the soundtrack and all other musical aspects of the Underground Railroad drama.
Nearly a year and a half after jumping from ABC News to NBC Sports, Elliott may return to Good Morning America as a newsreader, according to Variety.
The gossip blogger shot a cameo on Monday, but it's unclear if he's playing himself.
"News is changing," Noah told critics today. "The way people are absorbing their news in soundbites and headlines little click links. … The biggest challenge (is) how do we bring all of that together, looking at through a bigger lens as opposed to just going after one course, which was historically Fox News." PLUS: Noah on Wyatt Cenac: "You're supposed to fight about things."
The African wildlife show about rival animal clans is getting a new name. "HBO can tell its lawyers to stand down, a new title is forthcoming," says a Nat Geo exec.
Mythbusters vs. Jaws and Air Jaws: Ring of Death are among four new shark-themed programs scheduled for the Aug. 29-30 weekend.
Last Men Out takes place during the last 36 hours of the war, when a single unit of 63 Marines was left in place.
They'll play mother and son of a family that likes to commit criminal acts in the drama based on the 2010 Australian film.
The insights into masculinity we're supposed to get from True Detective is actually on full display on Mr. Robot.
Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are behind the series set in 2032 that follows the first manned mission to Mars. The miniseries will mix fake footage with interviews with real scientists.
FX unveils the "FX Emoji App"
You can now get emojis based on all your favorite FX and FXX shows.
The At Seventeen singer writes in a lengthy Facebook post that Johnny Carson "broke the barrier Cosby tried to create." Cosby, she writes, thought she wasn't "suitable family entertainment."
The former ESPN star isn't a natural TV host, and HBO may realize that once their honeymoon is over.
"To play with time is a wonderful thing and we're playing with time all season — flashing ahead, flashing behind," says director Thomas Schlamme.
"I remember not being able to have the bagel or anything at (craft services) - we call it crafty - where it's just a table of food ready for you to eat whenever you want," she recalled on The View. "And I remember people were like, 'You can't eat that. You're getting fat.'"
Jace Alexander, who's directed more than 30 Law & Order episodes, allegedly possessed videos of underage children involved in sexual acts.
The one-hour documentary will explore the life of the Cuban leader.
Kit Harington is still in Belfast.
Did The Game pave the way for Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder?
Check out the campy commercial directed by Fred Savage.
Ice-T, Kelli Giddish and Peter Scanavino are all part of Law & Order: SVU's baby fever.


With nearly 25 years experience in software and database technology I thought I had seen all that programming had to offer; then I discovered Essbase. Learn some interesting observations regarding Essbase calculations accumulated over nearly 10 years of Hyperion implementations. We will discuss aggregations, allocations, eliminations, and driver-based calculations, commands and functions specific to Hyperion Planning, and some of the more confounding aspects such as block creation and cross dimensional operators.
The DBA has numerous tools, some requiring additional licenses, some standard to any environment. When problems arise, often the administrator is expected to, not only identify, but also correct the problem without impact and in short order. This presentation goes over a number of common Oracle errors and performance issues, showing what tools, tracing to AWR reports, along with how to utilize these to quickly assess a strategy to address problems when they develop to lessen the challenge to managing these types of environments.
Attendees will leave the session with a better understanding of trouble-shooting techniques and when to use what features, tools and reports to address issues.
• What are the business problems solved by implementing SOA?
There is a considerable amount of free geo-spatial data available from the government and open source groups. This information can be quite helpful at providing more information about location-based data. For example, if you're a property management company and you wanted to know close each of your properties are for anything from grocery stores to railroad tracks to flood plains, all of this information is available. If you wanted to know which homes are on a specific golf course, this data is available for free too.


Do you like privacy and are a little handy? We have the right place for you. -SOLD MAY 26, 2018 -- $115,000 SOLD!
Do you like privacy and are a little handy? We have the right place for you. Good sized lot in beautiful Anglemont just minutes away from Shuswap lake and golfing. The house has a great loft bedroom, one bedroom on the main and lots of room in the basement. Everything needs a bit of TLC but the price is right. Large shop has plenty of room for all you toys. Come and take a look.


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Q: Implementing Azure Key Vault using a corporate proxy The recommended way of implementing Azure Key Vault in .NET Core is with this example
// using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;

public static IWebHostBuilder CreateWebHostBuilder(string[] args) =>
    WebHost.CreateDefaultBuilder(args)
        .ConfigureAppConfiguration((context, config) =>
        {
            if (context.HostingEnvironment.IsProduction())
            {
                var builtConfig = config.Build();

                config.AddAzureKeyVault(
                    $"https://{builtConfig["KeyVaultName"]}.vault.azure.net/",
                    builtConfig["AzureADApplicationId"],
                    builtConfig["AzureADPassword"]);
            }
        })
        .UseStartup<Startup>();

Is there a way to customize this set up code for this call to Azure using a web proxy? I've found documentation for what to do with Key Vault behind a corporate firewall and what IPs need to be listed, but looking to see if there is a way to be able to use the proxy as well with some kind of HttpHandler in the HttpClient.

A: After researching this, it does not look like there is currently a way to handle this through a proxy. You have to instead add the IPs to your Firewall. This article explains it further:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/key-vault/key-vault-access-behind-firewall#ip-address-ranges

A: AzureKeyVault client use HttpClient.DefaultProxy for create connection. You can specify proxy in environment variables like HTTPS_PROXY, see HttpClient.DefaultProxy Property

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Free Agent: A.J. Burnett Returns to P-Burg
Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side of Pennsylvania. Free agent right-hander A.J. Burnett pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2012 and 2013 before he signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies prior to last season. After he turned down a $12.75MM option to return to Philly for the 2015 season, Burnett agreed today to a one year, $8.5MM that will have him donning the black and gold of the Pirates next season.
Burnett, who will turn 38 in January, made $15MM in a season in which he led the National League in losses with 18. The Phillies struggled as a team in 2014 and with the future not looking bright for the 2015 campagain, it was no shock that Burnett walked away from his option to play for a better team. Burnett had two of his best seasons as a member of the Pirates, who have made the playoffs the last two seasons as a wild card entry.
Burnett finished with 16 wins and posted a 3.51 ERA when the Pirates finished four games below .500 in 2012. The lanky righty, who has World Series rings from the 2003 Marlins (injuries limited him to 23 games) and 2009 Yankees, pitched in bad luck the following season, but the team ended a 20-year postseason drought. (The team won the wild card game before they lost to St. Louis in the division series.) The lanky righty finished 10-11 despite a 3.30 ERA and a league best 9.8 K's per nine innings.
Posted in Free Agents, MLB, NL Central, NL East, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Penguins, Uncategorized and tagged A.J. Burnett, MLB, MLB free agent, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates on November 14, 2014 by d4assignment. Leave a comment
Pens Power Past Blue Jackets in Game 1
Pittsburgh's Matt Niskanen QB'ed a powerful Pittsburgh power play in Game 1 vs. Columbus.
The first rule of fight club is, don't give the Penguins a Power Play
The Columbus Blue Jackets better learn rule #1 in a hurry after losing playoff series opener to the heavily favored Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-3
Mark Letestu had given the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead after one period with a power play tally of his own. But Blake Comeau took an interference penalty with 16 seconds left the opening period. The Pens' carry-over PP didn't start well in the second period thanks to Derek MacKenzie's breakaway short-handed goal.
Columbus was seemingly in control of the game, and then they weren't. Still on the PP, Matt Niskanen shaved the lead in half with a blast from the right point that was deflected past Sergei Bobrovsky by Beau Bennett. Just 35 seconds, Jack Johnson went off for interference and the Pens were right back on the ice with 5 on 4 advantage.
Sidney Crosby sent a pass above the right circle to Evgeni Malkin at the right point. Malkin quickly found Niskanen in the left circle and the Pens' defenseman whipped a wrist shot into the net to tie the game at three apiece.
Meanwhile, Marc-Andre Fleury shut down the Blue Jackets the rest of the way and Brandon Sutter notched the game winner in the third period. A turnover at the Pittsburgh blue line created a two-on-one opportunity with Sutter skating down the right side. With the passing lane to Ray Whitney blocked, Sutter kept the puck and fired it through Bobrosvsky at 8:08, for what proved to be the game-winner.
Sidney Crosby was held to one assist, but the Pens have so many weapons, losing Game 1 doesn't bode well for Columbus.
The Blue Jackets will also need to improve on face-offs; the Pens won 56% ot those taken.
Posted in Columbus Blue Jackets, NHL, NHL playoffs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Nationals and tagged Columbus Blue Jackets, Evgeni Malkin, Jack Johnson, Marc-Andre Fleury, Matt Niskanen, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ryan Johansen, Sergei Bobrovsky, Sidney Crosby on April 17, 2014 by d4assignment. Leave a comment
2014 NHL PLAYOFFS: PENGUINS VS. BLUE JACKETS
Still just 26-years of age, Sidney Crosby has 105 points in 82 career playoff games.
by Christopher Wenrich
The Pittsburgh Penguins will showcase their offensive talent as they face the Columbus Blue Jackets in the National Hockey League playoffs. Led by Sidney Crosby, the Penguins were one of the top offensive teams in the league this season. Crosby racked up an NHL-best 104 points in 80 games to win the scoring title (nobody else even reached 90 points) and reached 100-plus points for the fifth time in his career. Crosby led the league in assists (68) and points while finishing third in faceoff wins.
242 goals for (5th)
204 goals against (10th)
23.4 PP% (1st)
85.0 PK% (5th)
Despite losing Pascal Dupuis to a season-ending injury, Evgeni Malkin missing 22 games andKris Letang missing 10 weeks due to a stroke, the Penguins were still among league leaders in goals scored. Malkin notched 72 points in only 60 games, but may be unavailable for the start of the series. After Letang suffered a stroke, there were fears as to whether or not he would ever play again. Fortunately for Letang, he played the final games of the regular season without incident.
Although Malkin may be unavailable for the start of the series, the Penguins still possess plenty of firepower up front. Chris Kunitz scored 35 goals and 68 points in 78 games this season. James Neal scored 27 goals and 61 points in 59 games and Jussi Jokinen scored 21 goals and 57 points in 81 games. During Malkin's absence, Brandon Sutter showed the ability to chip in offensively. Letang – 22 points – was limited to 37 games this season, but Matt Niskanenpicked up the slack offensively, posting 10 goals and 46 points in 81 games. A healthy Letang will only add to the Penguins' great firepower.
Marc-Andre Fleury went 39-18-5 with a 2.37 GAA, .915 SV% and five shutouts this season. This is the fourth consecutive season in which he posted a sub-2.40 GAA. Fleury is one of the best goaltenders in the NHL when he is on top of his game. However, he suffered through postseason struggles in recent years. If the Penguins are to make a deep run, Fleury will have to be sharp.
226 goals for (12th)
19.3 PP% (11th)
82.1 PK% (14th)
Blue Jackets fans had to be thrilled to finally witness the breakout year of Ryan Johansen. He led the team in goals (33) and points (63) in 82 games. Johansen is an excellent puck handler who is unafraid to drive to the net and he possesses a good shot. This long-awaited breakout may be just the beginning. In terms of talent, the Blue Jackets simply do not match up with the Penguins; however, if they are able to limit the production of the Crosby line and get an excellent performance from Johansen, they may have a chance.
Defenseman James Wisniewski had another strong season for the Jackets, scoring 51 points in 75 games. Johansen and Wisniewski were the only Blue Jackets to post 50-plus points. Brandon Dubinsky and Cam Atkinson were the only others to reach 40-plus. Sergei Bobrovsky went 32-20-5 this season with a 2.38 GAA, .923 SV% and five shutouts. Bobrovsky has been nothing short of spectacular in his time with the Blue Jackets, and he must continue to play that well for his team to have any chance to upset the Penguins.
General expectations for this series favor a victory by the Penguins. The reality is that the Blue Jackets do not possess the collective star power the Penguins have up front. This will likely be a very short series, unless the Blue Jackets can grind out 1-0 or 2-1 victories. The Blue Jackets will not be scoring four or five goals in a game unless Fleury struggles as he has in recent years.
Posted in Columbus Blue Jackets, NHL, NHL playoffs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Uncategorized and tagged Columbus Blue Jackets, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury, NHL, NHL Playoffs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ryan Johansen, Sergei Bobrovsky, Sidney Crosby, Stanley Cup on April 16, 2014 by d4assignment. Leave a comment

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


3 days! In just 3 days I'll be on that plane and there'll be no stopping me. I've cancelled my phone, got a new debit card, picked up my hiker trading cards (sure to be collectors items), moved most of my stuff, thrown out lots of junk and started to group the maps and guide books into sections. Everything is slowly falling in to place and all I need to do is go with the flow.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 11th, 2007 at 12:00 am	and is filed under Planning, Pre-hike. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.


A focus on year-over-year cost increases is a necessary component of prudent budgeting for both small local practices and large national healthcare systems. However, now more than ever, cost containment is a priority for healthcare administrators. Overhead facilities costs have often been the last place for healthcare organizations to look when evaluating expenditure. Assessing utility use and improving energy management is a simple way for healthcare facilities to impact their bottom line and improve overall efficiency.
Insulation on your hospital's mechanical systems is often out of sight, out of mind. Unfortunately, this can mean that the insulation is not performing as intended. In fact, it is estimated that up to 30% of all installed mechanical insulation is either missing or damaged due to inadequate or irregular maintenance.
During a time when healthcare facilities are focused on saving as much as possible, large capital investments are difficult to justify. An insulation energy audit, on the other hand, is a low-hanging fruit when it comes to maximizing the performance of your hospital's exiting mechanical equipment without expending a large amount on equipment upgrades.
An insulation energy audit gives staff, building owners and facilities managers a complete understanding of the true dollar and performance value of their insulated systems. The process is an effective way to calculate how much money and energy a facility is losing with its current mechanical insulation system, whether because the mechanical equipment is under-insulated, or because the insulation is missing or damaged. Then, once the vulnerabilities have been identified, a plan can be developed for updating the insulation to be as effective as possible.
Many hospitals use recommissioning or retro-commissioning to ensure their plants are operating correctly. Although this strategy can improve performance, the results are static, only correcting issues at one point in time.
A more effective approach is constant commissioning. This will provide complete transparency and ensure your systems are running properly, 24/7. With a more traditional system, the wait time between commissioning could be a year or longer. In that time, equipment ages, degrades, and goes through many other variables.
With constant commissioning, operations personnel can be notified immediately if something is wrong, rather than waiting an unknown amount of time. Through continuous monitoring, constant commissioning provides full transparency into the efficiency—or lack of efficiency—of a given piece of equipment.
According to the National Conference on Building Commissioning, a constantly commissioned facility can use significantly less energy than a facility that is recommissioned every two years.
It's time for hospitals to think of energy management solutions not as an additional expense, but as investments that will deliver true ROI in the form of energy savings. Your organization has already made a significant investment into HVAC and other mechanical equipment. Start by optimizing your hospital's existing energy use to protect your current equipment and keep it in peak condition throughout is life.
No matter the age of your system, you can start conserving energy by maximizing what you already have in place. To do this, your facility will need to commit to preventative maintenance (PM). By making PM a standard part of your operations, you can become aware of issues before they become more costly problems.
Energy optimization in hospitals does more than impact the bottom line. Each aspect of facility operations plays a role in delivering superior patient care. Go after these three low-hanging fruits to start the process of optimizing your hospital's energy management today.


On Saturday, April 20, 2013 from 10am to 4pm developer D.R. Horton will be celebrating the Grand Opening of three new neighborhoods in the West Hills area of Valencia and showcasing three beautiful brand new single family homes. This celebration is set to include an Al Fresco Street Festival with live music, awesome giveaways and model home tours. Some of your favorite bloggers (like yours truly) will also be on hand to keep you current with the latest home tips and trends, and the Radio Disney road crew will be there too!
I'd LOVE for you to join me from 10-11am on April 20th in Valencia Village for a super fun and engaging presentation on All Things Beauty. I will be holding court in a gorgeous master bathroom of one these brand new homes and sharing some of my secret beauty tips and tricks for how to look pretty and refreshed when you are crunched for time. I will reveal some of my favorite beauty products, demonstrate how to use them to freshen your look instantly, let you test products and play a bit, ask your pressing beauty questions and of course there will be beauty giveaways and treats. I will also highlight some of the latest Spring/Summer beauty trends and tell you how to achieve those looks too.
I Can't Wait to See You My Beauties!
On Saturday, April 20th I will be doing a presentation at a beautiful new development community in Valencia on Spring Beauty Trends and Quick Beauty Tricks, Please Join Me!


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Hannah Howe - Writing Bestselling Mysteries
Posted on 7th of April, 2017 by Naomi Bolton
Best-selling author, Hannah Howe, was sitting at her desk, scribbling notes trying to write a mystery when Sam Smith came to her. This character truly came alive and halfway through the book, Howe realized that this was going to be a series. Twelve books later, the Sam Smith Mystery Series is a bestseller on Amazon and a favorite in the genre for many readers. As our Author of the Day, Howe tells us more about Sam's character, how her background in psychology influences her work and gives us more insights in the creation of Sam's Song, the first book in the series.
Please give us a short introduction to what Sam's Song is about.
Sam's Song is a mystery, but the book is also about Sam. The Sam Smith Mystery Series charts Sam's development as a person. In Sam's Song, Sam is working out of a rundown office, unsure about herself and struggling to make ends meet. As the story develops, Sam gains confidence in herself; she takes the first steps on the road to becoming an assured woman running a successful detective agency.
Your series combines psychological mysteries with humor and romance – why do you take this approach?
First and foremost, I'm a romantic - romance makes the world go round - so my series had to include a strong romantic thread. My stories feature adult themes. Although I do not describe violence, etc graphically my stories do include dark elements, so I felt that humor was necessary to add balance. Also, to combat her difficult childhood, Sam developed a strong sense of humor and as the narrator she displays that to the reader. The physiological element is the starting point for all my stories - I develop the mysteries from a psychological base because I'm interested in people's motivations and the effect crime has on individuals.
Tell us more about Sam Smith. Who is she and how was her character conceived in your mind?
Sam's conception. I was sitting sideways at my desk scribbling notes on a notepad. I can picture the scene now. I knew that I wanted to write a mystery story, but I was struggling to find a narrator. I looked up and Sam said, "Why don't you write about me?" I don't believe in ghosts, or anything fanciful, but this was a magical moment. Everything about Sam came to me in a finger click - her name, looks, personality, background, occupation, location...in that instant she became real to me. In regard to her background, Sam was brought up in a single parent home, by her alcoholic mother. Although Sam's mother loved her, when drunk she would lash out occasionally. Obviously, these beatings went a long way to forming Sam's outlook on life. She could have become bitter and angry, but instead she set out to help people the best she could. Sam is a woman who believes in keeping her word, and in loyalty. She empathizes strongly with the underdog, and this empathy underpins the series.
You have a background in psychology – how does this influence your writing?
My psychological background provides the basis for the stories. As I mentioned earlier, each story starts life from a psychological perspective, usually based on observational experience. My stories are based on real life issues, but I do not base my characters on real people. Reviewers have noted that although I deal with 'heavy' subject matter, my stories are a light read. This is a deliberate policy on my part - I am a storyteller, I want readers to enter Sam's world, feel entertained and enjoy the stories.
Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?
I'm a chess addict, I have been since childhood. I can play the game to a reasonable level. My next book, book eleven in the series, is called Mind Games and this book focuses on a young female chess player, though you do not need to know anything about chess to understand the story. Mind Games is about the many aspects of love and, like all of my books, is an emotional story.
Why did you bring Sam's ex, Dan back into her life for this book?
After Sam's mother died, Sam drifted into a relationship with Dan. Outwardly charming, Dan soon became violent towards Sam. You must remember that for Sam violence was a 'normal' part of life - Sam's Song = Love Hurts. However, after four years of domestic violence Sam found the strength to walk out. This was the first step on her road to empowerment. With Sam's Song, the reader needed to witness Dan first hand, hence his involvement in the story.
Your characters are very relatable – how do you pull this off?
Thank you, I am deeply honoured by your words. Before I write, I create all the main characters in great detail. Once I have a dozen main characters I allow them to tell the story. At that point, I'm a typist, listening to their words. I create the characters, but my characters write the stories. I intercede as editor, but as my stories develop my characters must have their say. Reviewers have noted that my books are character-driven novels, which is pleasing for me, as an author.
Do you plot out your books before you start writing?
I do. I start with a premise and theme for the stories. Then I develop the characters. Then I plot each chapter out on a sheet of A3 paper. I make detailed notes about plotlines, locations, etc. During the writing process new ideas will present themselves, so I will make minor changes. That said, most of the time I will know the closing line of the book before I write the first.
Your book keeps readers hooked throughout. What is your secret to keeping things fast-paced and riveting?
I try not to waste any words in a Sam Smith story. Also, each chapter must move the story forward in some way. My natural writing style is similar to Robert B Parker's and I have learned a great deal about my craft from reading his books. "Dont bore the reader", is my maxim; leave the reader wanting more, not less.
Did you know from the start that this was going to be a series? How does the next book in the series tie in with Sam's Song?
About halfway through Sam's Song I realized the potential for a series. Book two, Love and Bullets, continues straight after Sam's Song, though the two books contain stand-alone stories. The rest of the series follows in real time, at approximately three monthly intervals.
Tell us more about your journey as an author. How much has your life changed since you published your very first book?
Before writing Sam's Song I wrote six novels for my own amusement. These novels remain unpublished. Sam's Song was not offered to a mainstream publisher because I did not want to become involved in the publishing industry to that extent. Instead, I publish my books through a small, independent publisher and this gives me greater artistic control. Along the way I've met many wonderful authors, who have been generous with their time and advice, and established strong friendships. I've learned a lot about the technical aspects of publishing, and formed valuable bonds with designers, printers and people like yourself.
Do you have any interesting writing habits? What is an average writing day like for you?
Writing for me is a habit. I am very disciplined. I don't wait for the muse to appear. Instead, at the appointed time every day, six days a week, I sit at my desk and write a chapter. Each day, I find the blank page intimidating, but that feeling turns to exhilaration when the words start to flow.
What are you working on right now?
I usually work on three stories at the same time. At the moment, I'm editing Mind Games for publication in June, collaborating with my narrator, Suzan Lynn Lorraine on the audio book of Secrets and Lies, the sixth audio book in the series, while researching background material for book twelve, Digging in the Dirt. I have a notebook full of ideas, including outlines for books thirteen, fourteen and fifteen, so I add notes to them from time to time.
Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?
Readers can visit my website, http://hannah-howe.com, and keep up to date with my books from there. I'm on Twitter, @samsauthor, and I have a Facebook account. Readers can also follow me through my Amazon page https://www.amazon.com/Hannah-Howe/e/B00OK7E24E. Authors love to hear from their readers, so please feel free to contact me through my website.
A closing word of thanks, if I may, to my readers - your support is greatly appreciated and valued - and to Many Books for publishing this interview. The writing community of authors, readers, printers, publishers and promoters is a special one, and it's a great thrill to be a part of that community.
This deal has ended but you can read more about the book here.
Michael Lister - Writing Thrillers About Basic Humanity in Inhumane Situations
Henderson Smith - A New Kind of Fairy Tale
Vickie McKeehan - Romantic Suspense with a lot of Heart
Bella Andre - From Songwriter to Bestselling Author
Books added this week


AUSTIN – From a state game warden who rescued an elderly woman in shock sitting dangerously close to her burning house to a federal agent who obtained convictions in a major case involving illegal importation of deer, 39 persons were honored Thursday by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Law Enforcement Division.
Ten city, state, and federal officers, 26 TPWD employees, one fire fighter and two civilians from around the state who have performed exceptionally for the greater good of Texas were presented awards by TPWD Executive Director Carter Smith at TPWD Headquarters.
Receiving the Marine Safety Officer of Year award was Chatt Cottle, a Lower Colorado River Authority ranger. Cottle was recognized for his promotion of safe boating practices through the detection and enforcement of intoxication laws on public waters. The LCRA ranger also hosts both formal and informal training sessions for his fellow officers, prosecutors, and the public.
Director's Awards went to: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agent Michael Merida for his role in the obtaining convictions on seven individuals for illegal importation of live deer and harmful fish into Texas; Ray Cartwright for his role as a security professional for TPWD for over 20 years and for providing training, planning, logistics and executive protection for many TPWD commissioners, as well as providing security at many TPWD facilities and special events; former TPWD employee Phil Riggs, the owner of Texan Scuba, for assisting with the department dive team's development, training and equipment acquisition; and Sgt. Paul Bonnar, Officer Glen Mayo, Officer Dave Owings, and Officer Mark Thorsen of the Houston Police dive team for providing extensive advanced public safety diver training, consultation and support at no cost to TPWD.
Also receiving director's awards were: TPWD Internal Affairs Captains Chris Davis and Joe Carter, Texas Ranger Randy Aguirre, Mathis Police Sgt. Francisco Sanchez, Investigator Nicole Delagarza, and Investigator Byron Smith for their role in the recovery of a stolen TPWD rifle from a game warden's truck, and the arrest of two individuals; Groesbeck Volunteer Fire Department Capt. Adam Collett for his role in the rescue of a victim from a flooded ditch south of Ben Hur in Limestone County; TPWD Creative Services employee Chris Hunt for her role in the creation of the Law Enforcement Division's publications including the law enforcement awards certificates, the radio handbooks, leap books, and justice of the peace handbooks; and TPWD regulations coordinator Robert Macdonald for his role in the interpretation process of TPWD code, statutes and proclamations relating to the enforcement of fish, wildlife, and water safety laws, as well as for his role in editing the department's Outdoor Annual.
Other receiving director's citations were: Game Warden Will Plumas for creating a map book of the Rio Grande Valley and the Rio Grande that has assisted multiple agencies in reporting incident locations quicker by shedding light to the river and adjacent land formations that are located in that area; Game Wardens Steve Stapleton, Kurt Kelly and Derek Spitzer for their investigation that uncovered an extensive killing spree of white-tailed deer by four individuals that occurred in Wood and Rains counties in northeast Texas; Special Operations Sgt. Chad Ellis and Sgt. Josh Koenig for their assistance, along with several others, in the recovery of a stolen patrol rife from a game warden's truck; and Capt. Henry Balderamas for his work facilitating the ability of Spanish speaking individuals to report game violations.
Receiving the director's life saving citations were: Game Wardens Lerrin Williams and Shaun Bayless for their role in saving a kayaker, from Cedar Park, without a life jacket whose kayak was sinking; Game Warden David Vannoy for the rescue of two hunters and their dog whose boat had capsized on Lake Grapevine; Garza/Lynn County Game Warden Drew Spencer for apprehending an armed man suspected of suicidal tendencies; Game Warden Gary Self for rescuing an elderly woman from a burning house in Hall County; and Game Wardens David Pellizzari and Kirk Permenter for the rescue of a man on Lake Palestine.
Also receiving the director's life saving citations were: Game Wardens Brent Satsky, Michael McCall, Kathleen Stuman and Brian Scott for the rescue of a female swimmer having a seizure in Canyon Lake; Game Wardens Sergio Bazaldua and David Bosecker for the rescue of a man on Joe Pool Lake; Game Warden Randy Harper for his assistance, along with Captain Adam Collett, in the rescue of a man trapped in his truck in a flooding ditch in south of Ben Hur in Limestone County; and Lt. Robert French for performing CPR and employing a portable AED to stabilize a cadet who began to convulse and lost consciousness.
Bison Celebration Days - September 14 - 16, 2012 at Caprock Canyons State Park & Trailway.
September 14 - 16, 2012 at Caprock Canyons State Park & Trailway.
An outdoor classroom field day, living history encampments, a benefit barbecue lunch and a Sunday afternoon performance by Texas' own Grammy Award-winning Asleep at the Wheel will highlight the second annual Texas State Bison Celebration Days!
The three-day event is being held to raise funds to help continue restoration of the Texas State Bison Herd to its historic range within Caprock Canyon State Park and to allow visitors an opportunity to learn about the natural and cultural heritage of 19th century Panhandle history. The celebration allows park visitors to view up close the descendants of the great Southern Plains bison herd that once swarmed the Great Plains. Regular park entry fees will apply.
Schools from all over the area are invited to attend a special educational day to learn about the history behind the Buffalo Soldiers, Native American life, pioneer women and early area ranching. Young people will view genuine artifacts and be able to interact with living history re-enactors. Last year's event hosted several hundred school kids.
The public can see and photograph the semi-free-ranging descendants of Panhandle pioneer rancher Charles Goodnight's JA Ranch bison herd saved from extinction in the late 1800s when millions of native bison were slaughtered for meat, hides and horns. Bison Celebration Day also will feature living history encampments, a geocache challenge, and a benefit barbecue lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. along with vendor exhibits in the nearby town of Quitaque.
During the celebration, visitors will be able to donate directly to the Texas State Bison Herd Restoration project or purchase merchandise to support prairie restoration efforts. Donations can be made online by visiting www.caprockpartnersfoundation.com or by calling (806) 455-1441.
Legendary Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel will play a Buffalo Boogie Benefit Concert at 2 p.m. in a meadow on FM 1065 three miles north of Quitaque and half a mile south of the state park entrance. Tickets for the show can be purchased for $20 in advance by calling the state park at (806) 455-1492 or for $25 at the door the day of the show. There is no seating, so bring chairs and blankets.


text:
GUERRA, ROBERTO
Gran Canaria 11 Forward
Height: 1.98 Born: 4 April, 1983 Nationality: Spain
Totals 12 4 238:45 73 20/41 6/34 15/18 6 18 24 10 10 13 0 6 21 26 51
Averages 12 4 19:53 6.1 48.8% 17.6% 83.3% 0.5 1.5 2 0.8 0.8 1.1 0 0.5 1.8 2.2 4.3
Eighthfinals
11 * vs FMP Belgrade 20:00 0/1 0/2 1 1 1 2 1 -2
12 at FMP Belgrade 15:15 7 2/5 1/1 1 2 2 3
Average 17:37 3.5 33.3% 33.3% 0% 0 0.5 0.5 0 0.5 0.5 0 0 2 1.5 0.5
1 * vs AEK Athens 26:15 8 3/4 0/5 2/2 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 6
2 * at Hemofarm 25:45 4 1/5 0/3 2/2 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 2 1
3 * vs Nancy 24:00 7 3/5 0/3 1/1 2 1 3 2 2 1 3 7
4 at Lietuvos Rytas 20:30 8 1/4 2/2 0/1 1 1 3 1 1 1 2 9
5 vs Brose Baskets 18:45 18 4/7 2/4 4/4 3 3 1 1 2 16
6 at AEK Athens 19:30 6 3/4 0/2 1 1 2 2 1 3 2 5
7 vs Hemofarm 12:45 1 0/5 1/2 1 1 1 1 3 -3
8 at Nancy 21:45 5 1/2 1/4 4 4 1 1 1 5 1
9 vs Lietuvos Rytas 20:30 7 2/2 0/2 3/4 2 2 1 1 3 3 6
10 at Brose Baskets 13:45 2 0/2 0/1 2/2 2 2 2 3 2 4 2
10 Totals 203:30 66 18/35 5/31 15/18 6 17 23 10 9 12 0 6 17 23 50
Average 20:21 6.6 51.4% 16.1% 83.3% 0.6 1.7 2.29 1 0.9 1.2 0 0.6 1.7 2.29 5
Index rating 23 Cologne vs. Herbalife Gran Canaria 1/6/2004
Points 22 Zadar vs. Herbalife Gran Canaria 11/11/2003
Offensive rebounds 2 Herbalife Gran Canaria vs. SLUC Nancy 11/14/2006
Defensive rebounds 6 Atlas Belgrade vs. Herbalife Gran Canaria 1/27/2004
Total rebounds 6 Atlas Belgrade vs. Herbalife Gran Canaria 1/27/2004
Assists 5 Cholet Basket vs. Herbalife Gran Canaria 11/16/2004
Steals 3 Cologne vs. Herbalife Gran Canaria 1/6/2004
Blocks 1 Herbalife Gran Canaria vs. Galatasaray Istanbul 3/18/2008
Minutes 36 Zadar vs. Herbalife Gran Canaria 11/11/2003
Grew up with CB Gran Canaria (Spain) youth teams.
Made his debut with CB Gran Canaria, in the EBA League, also playing with the ACB team during the 2000-01 season.
Played with both teams also during the 2001-02 championship.
He's till playing with CB Gran Canaria.
Has been member of the Spanish Under-20 National Team.
Won the silver medal at the 2002 European Under-20 Championship.
Member of the Spanish 'B' National Team.
2003-04 Auna Gran Canaria 12 127 10.6 36/68 52.9 8/27 29.6 31/39 79.5 29 13 22 1
2004-05 Gran Canaria 9 67 7.4 15/25 60 9/26 34.6 10/15 66.7 16 3 12 1
2006-07 Gran Canaria 12 73 6.1 20/41 48.8 6/34 17.6 15/18 83.3 24 10 10 0
2007-08 Kalise Gran Canaria 14 125 8.9 28/54 51.9 15/40 37.5 24/36 66.7 32 8 16 1
Totals 47 392 8.3 99/188 52.7 38/127 29.9 80/108 74.1 101 34 60 3
Averages 47 392 8.3 99/188 52.7 38/127 29.9 80/108 74.1 2.1 0.7 1.3 0.1


Fonterra announced yesterday a price increase of 17 cents per kilogram (c/kg) of milk solids for Victorian and Tasmanian dairy farmers.
The price increase will will be backdated to 1 July 2009 and predicts an average annual price for dairy suppliers of $4.06 per kg of milk solids.
"This is our third step-up of the season and means Fonterra's farmgate price is now 46 c/kg higher than at the season opening in July," said Heather Stacy who is the National Milk Services Manager for Fonterra.
The increase will deliver an extra $20 million to Fonterra's 1,300 suppliers in Victoria and Tasmania which will be welcomed after a difficult season. Fonterra considers there is still uncertainty about the sustainability of the recovery in dairy prices while the strength of the Australian dollar may dampen the opportunity for Australian farmers to benefit further from improved commodity prices.


Google on Tuesday unveiled Classroom, a free tool that integrates Google Docs, Drive, and Gmail so that teachers can assign and collect homework electronically, communicate with students in and out of class, and organize their curriculum. It helps teachers create and organize assignments quickly, provide feedback efficiently, and communicate with their classes with ease.
Classroom was designed hand-in-hand with teachers to help them save time, keep classes organized, and improve communication with students.
It is based on the principle that educational tools should be simple and easy to use, and is designed to give teachers more time to teach and students more time to learn, according to Zach Yeske, Classroom product Manager in a blog post.
The rolling out of Classroom, however will commence in September to all schools that use Google Apps for Education.
Meanwhile, Google is testing the new tool with several universities and colleges and now, teachers and professors alike have been invited to give the tool a spin, by registering for free on: https://classroom.google.com/signup.


text:
Privacy Policy Last updated: (02/14/2015)
Techville Inc ("us", "we", or "our") operates https://umax.com (the "Site"). This page informs you of our policies regarding the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information we receive from users of the Site.
Changes To This Privacy Policy This Privacy Policy is effective as of 02/14/2015 and will remain in effect except with respect to any changes in its provisions in the future, which will be in effect immediately after being posted on this page.


text:
package org.binarybabel.solidtx.core.object;

import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;

/**
 * Used by ObjectManager to cache initialized entities for reuse.
 * Entities are stored according to their class, and separated by
 * a provided entity id.
 */
public class ObjectCache {

    protected Map<Class,Map<String,Object>> cache;

    /**
     * Should only be created by ObjectManager.
     * @see ObjectManager
     */
    protected ObjectCache() {
        cache = new HashMap<Class,Map<String,Object>>();
    }

    /**
     * Add an entity to the cache.
     *
     * @param object the entity
     * @param id the entity id
     */
    public void addObject(Object object, Comparable id) {
        Class klass = object.getClass();
        cacheClassMap(klass).put(String.valueOf(id), object);
    }

    /**
     * Get an entity from the cache, based on class and id.
     *
     * Returns null on cache miss.
     *
     * @param objectClass the entity class
     * @param id the entity id
     * @return the entity or null
     */
    public Object getObject(Class objectClass, Comparable id) {
        return cacheClassMap(objectClass).get(String.valueOf(id));
    }

    /**
     * Remove an entity from the cache.
     *
     * @param object the entity
     * @param id the entity id
     */
    public void removeObject(Object object, Comparable id) {
        Class klass = object.getClass();
        removeObject(klass, id);
    }

    /**
     * Remove an entity from the class, based on class and id.
     *
     * @param objectClass the entity class
     * @param id the entity id
     */
    public void removeObject(Class objectClass, Comparable id) {
        cacheClassMap(objectClass).remove(String.valueOf(id));
    }

    /**
     * Check if cache contains matching entity.
     *
     * @param object the entity
     * @param id the entity id
     * @return true when entity in cache
     */
    public boolean containsObject(Object object, Comparable id) {
        if (object != null && getObject(object.getClass(), id) == object) {
            return true;
        } else {
            return false;
        }
    }

    protected Map<String,Object> cacheClassMap(Class objectClass) { //TODO consistent map naming
        Map<String,Object> map;

        if ( ! cache.containsKey(objectClass)) {
            map = new HashMap<String, Object>();
            cache.put(objectClass, map);
        } else {
            map = cache.get(objectClass);
        }

        return map;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Five piece white 60″ x 42″ barrier free shower with 1 inch beveled threshold and center drain. Fiberglass shower with "Eight Inch" tile look. Luxurious polyester gelcoat finish. Full plywood backing on all walls for outstanding strength and customized installation of accessories. No mud setting required. Accessory package includes: 24″ Stainless Steel safety bar, 48″ Stainless Steel safety bar, 22″ x 16″ padded seat w/legs, Symmons shower valve w/hand held shower system, 2″ caulkless brass drain w/chrome screen, 59.5″ curtain rod /brackets and rings, 66″ x 74″ 20ga vinyl shower curtain, and 5′ WaterStopper.


text:
Tag Archives: Cthulhu
The Hounds of Tindalos, Part 2: Residents from an Euclidean Space-Time
July 24, 2016 The Hounds of Tindalos, UncategorizedClark Ashton Smith, Cthulhu, Euclidean geometry, Frank Belknap Long, H.P. Lovecraft, non-Euclidean, The Hounds of Tindalos, Ubbo-Sathlaflubnow
Hounds of Tindalos by Toren Atkinson (www.gwthomas.org)
"Time is merely our imperfect perception of a new dimension of space. Time and motion are both illusions. Everything that has existed from the beginning of the world exists now. Events that occurred centuries ago on this planet continue to exist in another dimension of space. Events that will occur centuries from now exist already. We cannot perceive their existence because we cannot enter the dimension of space that contains them."
This passage from Frank Belknap Long's "The Hounds of Tindalos" may be a direct reference to the existence of multiverses, stitched or linked together not spatially but on a temporal basis, through time. Some evidence suggests that space-time was created as a result of the Big Bang. Additionally, while these universes may be completely inaccessible to one another, at least with what science currently tells us, they may have the common thread of time (see the lower right hand section of illustration below). Thus, if the Hounds can travel outside of space and time, they may have the ability to move from one multiverse to another.
From National Geographic
In the same paragraph Long does go on to say, "Human beings as we know them are merely fractions, infinitesimally small fractions of one enormous whole. Every human being is linked with all the life that has preceded him on this planet. All of his ancestors are parts of him. Only time separates him from his forebears, and time is an illusion that does not exist."
This second half of the paragraph sounds like some of the text that Clark Ashton Smith used to document the dissolution of Paul Tregardis in "Ubbo-Sathla." As Paul gazed into a strange orb-like crystal he, "…seemed to live unnumbered lives, to die myriad deaths, forgetting each time the death and life that had gone before." Also, "Life by life, era by era, he retraced the long and groping cycles…" These passages indicate that they may be a way for humans to remove themselves out of our space-time and/or perceive the multiverses at the same time, in effect traveling through time. In the case of Paul Tregardis this was accomplished through the use of a strange, milky orb-like crystal, while in the "Hounds of Tindalos" Halpin Chalmers accomplished this with the use of the drug Liao. In each case there was a terrible price to pay. However, these similarities of traveling through space-time through the interconnectedness of a specific entity does beg the question – is there some relationship between Ubbo-Sathla and the Hounds of Tindalos?
Is there a connection between the Hounds and Ubbo-Sathla? (www.brawlofcthulhu.blogspot.com)
One of the main points made about the Hounds is that they are residents of "angular time." Humans, our world and our universe is all structured as curved space-time. While this is an extreme oversimplification, our three-dimensional space is curved in the fourth dimension of time (Nothing: A Very Short Introduction by Frank Close; 2009). As Einstein demonstrated the gravity associated with mass in universe bends or curves light and space. Gravity is also the reason way planets and stars are spherical. In addition, nature itself is very curved. For example, cells are spherical and details measurements of the human brain currently being conducting are using tools associated with curvilinear space. Straight lines are somewhat rare nature while curves clearly dominate the nature world (see below). Another way of describing our curvilinear universe is by calling it non-Euclidean. Thus, we are very non-Euclidean, curvilinear organisms.
Examples of the non-Euclidean structure of nature
While nature is very non-Euclidean humans are far more comfortable in Euclidean geometry and engineering. The Euclidean approach to design and building has served our civilization well over the centuries, through the building of the pyramids to the construction of bridges to the design of space probes, we depend on Euclidean mathematics and geometry in our everyday life. We depend on it so much so that when confronted with the non-Euclidean geometry of Cthulhu's city of R'lyeh we are disoriented and confused (of course complicating this are other distortions in our space-time relative to Cthulhu itself but that is another discussion).
R'lyeh by Moonlight (by 2manyworlds found at http://www.deviantart.com)
So what does all of this have to do with the Hounds of Tindalos? Based on Chalmers use of the drug Liao and his investigations, the Hounds are a form of Euclidean life that is very different from organisms within our curvilinear universe. Thus, while we exist in a curved space-time, the Hounds must reside within an angular (Euclidean) space-time. Chalmers called our curved universe "pure" while the angular universe as "foul." I think this was more of an anthropomorphic attempt to express the strangeness of the Hounds' angular, Euclidean universe.
Hannes Bok's interpretation of the Hounds of Tindalos may have convey their true angular, Euclidean structure and biology
If the Hounds are essentially a form of angular life, this would contribute toward the idea that they live outside of our space-time and can only enter our reality through angles. In a strange way, our Euclidean approach to architecture and engineering has made it easier for the Hounds to enter our reality. As our civilization has become more technologically advanced and continues to move more away from nature, the more Euclidean we have become. Think of all of the buildings, structures, machines and devices that now exist. From the world's largest buildings to the smallest personal devices, there are a countless number of angles for the Hounds of Tindalos to enter our space-time. Is this why many of the Old Ones (e.g. Cthulhu) and other alien civilizations (e.g. Elder Things, Mi-Go) avoid the use of Euclidean geometry? To avoid opening a portal between curved space-times and angular space-times? If the portal was large enough would a collision between universes create another Big Bang? Chilling questions to say the least.
Next time we will talk about the "biology" of the angular, Euclidean Hounds of Tindalos. Thank you – Fred.
February 14, 2016 Science, UncategorizedCthulhu, gravity waves, H.P. Lovecraft, Old Onesflubnow
Additional Information on the Spawn of Cthulhu and their Existence in Our Space-Time
August 29, 2015 Call of Cthulhu, Out of the AeonsCthulhu, Cthylla, Ghatanothoa, gravity, H.P. Lovecraft, Idh-Yaa, Lin Carter, M-theory, string theory, Ythogtha, Zoth-Ommggflubnow
Cthulhu and his Children by Liquid Nerve (www.deviantart.com)
As previously mentioned, Lovecraft cites that Cthulhu produced one offspring named Shaurash-ho (see below). I can find very little (almost no) information on this entity but based on its relationship with Cthulhu, it more than likely is one of the members of it's "Spawn" and was produced asexually.
According to the Ponape Scriptures Cthulhu had three sons and one daughter with an entity called Idh-yaa; the sons are Ghatanothoa, Ythogtha and Zoth-Ommgg and the daughter is Cthylla. I have already discussed in detail Ghatanothoa in previous articles and I will cover the others separately in future articles. However, for now I want to review this "family" dynamic of Cthulhu.
First, it must be emphasized that the terms father, mother, sons and daughter are highly anthropomorphic and not applicable to Cthulhu and it's Spawn. However, it is hypothesized that these terms can be useful in distinguishing sexual reproduction from asexual reproduction such as the budding or fragmentation of Cthulhu to produce Shaurash-ho. While it is highly unlikely that sexual reproduction among these entities functions in a similar capacity as it does in Terran life, a distinction can be made between a mixing or fusion of two entities (such as Cthulhu and Idh-yaa) and the "budding" or production of a new entity from another (such as Shaurash-ho being the asexual progeny of Cthulhu).
Second, as was previously proposed, it is hypothesized that Cthulhu and its Spawn may be composed of an extra-dimensional form of plasma (a form of ionized gas). In our universe plasma is very common but typically found in stars where temperatures reach 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degree Celsius). So why didn't Cthulhu or its spawn boil away the Pacific Ocean when it emerged from R'lyeh?
The Cthylla Supplication by Hawanja (www.deviantart.com)
Based on the latest iterations of string theory, there are 10 spatial dimensions and one temporal dimension. Of the 10 spatial dimensions, there are the 3 we are familiar with and 6 that are unknown to our senses. These ideas lead to a family of different theories called M-theory, which predicts a large number of universes (the multiverse). How many universes? According to the mathematics of M-theory 10500 different universes may exist (The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, 2010), each with a different set of natural laws; some may be similar to ours and some may be very different. Some of these other universes may be entirely devoid of matter but comprised of energy (dark energy or otherwise). In contrast, some universes may contain no matter or energy. In order to exist in our space-time Cthulhu and its Spawn may draw energy from one of the matterless universes and then dump the generated heat into a cold, void-like universe that has no matter or energy.
As shown in the figure below, we exist in a 3 spatial / 1 temporal universe or membrane (also known as a brane). Most of the material that makes up our matter (electrons, quarks, photons, etc.) are made of open strings which are attached to our brane and can not leave. However, gravity (in the form of gravitons) are closed strings (loops) that can pass from one brane to another through the bulk or material between the two branes; all of this is based on the mathematical predictions of String Theory.
Theoretical illustration of two universes as predicted by M-theory (www.abyss.uoregon.edu)
Based on the theoretical arrangement described above, two hypotheses can be proposed in describing the fundamental nature of Cthulhu and its Spawn. The first hypothesis is that Cthulhu and its Spawn enter our universe through the "curled up" higher dimensions, tapping into other branes for the extremely large amounts of energy needed for hyperspace travel (more on that below). An alternate hypothesis is that they enter our universe through points of intense gravity (in the heart of stars or even black holes). As previously mentioned gravitons can travel from one brane to another so maybe Cthulhu and its Spawn utilize these "gravity strings" as carrier waves to travel from one universe to another.
While theoretically it is possible to travel through hyperspace, the amount of energy needed to accomplish this is beyond our technology at this time. For example to simply probe into hyperspace, at least 1019 billion electron volts of energy is required. The Large Hadron Collider, which is the worlds largest and most powerful particle collider, can only generate 103 billion electron volts of energy. Thus, it will be sometime before humanity and generate the amount of energy needed to seriously investigate hyperspace. However, for Cthulhu and its Spawn, the generation of such large amounts of energy may be possible.
Cthulhu Spawn by Ian Llanas (www.deviantart.com)
Finally, I want to provide this quote from the physicist Paul Davies, which I found in Michio Kaku's book Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universe, Time Warps and the 10th Dimension, on what we could do if we manged to unify the known forces (electromagnetic, gravity, strong nuclear force and weak nuclear force) into one "superforce" :
"…we could change the structure of space and time, tie our own knots in nothingness, and build matter to order. Controlling the superforce would enable us to construct and transmute particles at will, thus generating exotic forms of matter. We might even be able to manipulate the dimensionality of space itself, creating bizarre artificial worlds with unimaginable properties. Truly we should be lords of the universe."
Such a passage certainly reminds one of Cthulhu and its Spawn or of Yog-Sothoth.
Next time I will be initiating a discussion on the tale "In the Walls of Eryx" written by H.P. Lovecraft and Kenneth Sterling. Thank you – Fred.
Cthulhu Spawn by Chillier 17 (www.deviantart.com)
More on the Nature of Cthulhu and its Spawn
August 16, 2015 Call of Cthulhu, Out of the AeonsCall of Cthulhu, Cthulhu, Ghatanothoa, H.P. Lovecraft, Idh-Yaa, Lin Carter, Necronomicon, Out of the Aeons, Xoth, Ythogtha, Zoth-Ommggflubnow
Cthulhu by Calavera (www.deviantart.com)
This short article will briefly discuss the expanded relationship between Cthulhu and Ghatanothoa and a little more on the origins of Cthulhu and its Spawn. Similar to Cthulhu, Ghatanothoa is trapped in a sunken island at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. While the legend of Ghatanothoa in von Junzt's Black Book and the associated events in the Cabot Museum of Archaeology in Boston as outlined in "Out of the Aeons" are very similar to those documented in "The Call of Cthulhu," there is no direct mention or identified connection between Ghatanothoa and Cthulhu in either tale. However, later text identified by Lin Carter has cited in a number of instances that Ghatanothoa is one of the three "sons" of Cthulhu, the other two being Ythogtha and Zoth-Ommgg.
Ythogtha (by Grumble Putty)
Zoth Ommgg (by Zach Geller)
In Lovecraft's original "family tree of the Old Ones" the only cited offspring of Cthulhu is Shaurash-ho and based on the lineage, this offspring was created through asexual reproduction. However, according to Carter's research into the Ponape Scriptures there was a sexual union, genetic or otherwise, between Cthulhu and an entity named Idh-Yaa. This sexual union occurred on, in or around Xoth, a green star located in the constellation of Taurus. In fact Cthulhu and its Spawn are said to have originated from Xoth. Again, this information is provided in the Ponape Scriptures as cited by Carter and not in the Black Book, which was cited by Lovecraft.
Idh-Yaa (from http://www.lovecraft.wiki.com)
It is particularly interesting that the binary star system of Xoth is described as a green star since humans have never documented a truly green star. Any star that appears to be green is a result of an optical illusion. For example, the multiple star system of the Antares has a particularly bright red star that makes some of other stars look green. While a truly green star is not impossible it is highly improbable in our universe. Thus, this provides evidence that Cthulhu and related entities are not residents of our space-time. While Xoth may be in the Taurus constellation, this section of space-time may be an access point to another multiverse.
Another interesting point is that as mentioned in a previous article Cthulhu and its Spawn are composed of matter different than what is found in our space-time and I hypothesize their matter may be somewhat plasma based (composed of ionized gas). While rare on Earth, plasma is the most common form of matter in our space-time with most of it found within stars. Thus, it may be that Cthulhu and its related spawn enter our space-time through the stars themselves and to remain in some stable, yet plastic, form draw energy from stars. However, as I previously mentioned, if Cthulhu and its Spawn are plasma-based and can exist in stars then they must be millions of degrees in temperature. For example, the core of our sun can reach more than 27 million degrees Fahrenheit, which is 15 million degree Celsius, (www.space.com). Thus, how can Cthulhu and its Spawn exist on or in Earth, or at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, without burning it up? More on that in a future article.
Rays of Xoth by Astra888leddher (www.deviantart.com)
In addition to providing more information on the plasma-based nature of Cthulhu, next time I will also present evidence that many of the entities cited as being associated or related to Cthulhu, such Idh-Yaa and their associated offspring, are in fact members of the Spawn of Cthulhu. However, this next article may not be posted until sometime toward the end of the month.
Next week I will be attending the NecronomiCon in Providence Rhode Island. I will be giving a talk on the "Lovecraftian Cosmos." In addition I will be on a panel discussing Lovecraft and Science. If you are attending, I would love to meet you. If you cannot attend I place on posting short articles and photos while at the convention on both this WordPress page and the Facebook page "Lovecraftian Science." Thank you – Fred.
The "Nature" of Ghatanothoa and Similarities with Cthulhu
August 9, 2015 Call of Cthulhu, Out of the AeonsCall of Cthulhu, Cthulhu, Ghatanothoa, H.P. Lovecraft, H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast, Out of the Aeons, plasmaflubnow
Beyond the ability to petrify people but leaving their brains alive within their paralyzed bodies (which I hypothesize is due to a biologically produced air-borne toxin) very little is known about the biology of Ghatanothoa. One of the reasons for this is the fact that getting too close to the entity results in paralysis. Whether it's due to merely observed Ghatanothoa or a result of an air-borne toxin it generates, getting actual information on this entity is extremely difficult and hazardous. However, H.P. Lovecraft and Hazel Heald do provide some small scrapes of information on this lesser known Old One.
Ghatanothoa by Jagoba Lekuona Huegun
Specifically, the most recent description of Ghatanothoa is "…gigantic – tentacled – proboscidian – octopus-eyed – semi-amorphous – plastic – partly squamous and partly rugose – ugh!" Other descriptors include loathsome, non-human and extra-galactic. Even in von Junzt's Black Book very little information is provided on Ghatanothoa. We do know the Spawn of Yuggoth deposited Ghatanothoa on ancient Earth deep in the caverns of a fortress on the mountain Yaddith-Go. Here it is said that Ghatanothoa would brood eternally and wallowed, waddled and burrowed deep in the Earth.
Based on the ancient text, Ghatanothoa must have wreaked havoc on Yuggoth since the Spawn imprisoned it on Earth. While Ghatanothoa was placed on Earth, the Spawn did not intentionally want to use this entity as a means of cleansing the planet of humans. Thus, the thing was imprisoned and a select portion of humanity, who ended up being the priests of Ghatanothoa were provided with a means of keeping it imprisoned.
So what is Ghatanothoa? Based on some interpretations made Kenneth Hite, Chris Lackey and Chad Fifer on the H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast, "Out of the Aeons" can be thought of as a re-interpretation of "The Call of Cthulhu." I agree with this and I hypothesize that Ghatanothoa and Cthulhu are similar entities. While Tsathoggua and Shub-Niggurath are mentioned in "Out of Aeons" and Cthulhu is not, the description of Ghatanothoa is somewhat similar to that of Cthulhu. Compare the description of Ghatanothoa described above to those of Cthulhu such as "lumbered slobberingly," "gelatinous green immensity," and "eldritch contradictions of all matter, force and cosmic order."
The morphology of both of these entities is "in-flux" in our universe. That is, they can change size and shape at will, which makes observing them very disorienting, even dangerous for your mind and body. For example, Ghatanothoa is described as plastic, while Cthulhu is described as gelatinous. It is clear based on Lovecraft's writings that Cthulhu, and more than likely Ghatanothoa, are not made of matter from our space-time and originate from outside of our universe. Their "matter" appears to be a combination of gaseous, solid and liquid material and in fact maybe composed of plasma.
Cthulhu by Fiend Upon My Back (www.deviantart.com)
Plasma is a state of matter where both electrons and protons are freely moving and no longer bound in the formal atomic state that we are familiar with. While extremely rare in on Earth, plasma is the most common state of matter in the universe (Kaku; Hyperspace, 1994). A sentient, ionized gas with a very fluid-like state could explain the strange inconsistency and movement of Cthulhu and Ghatanothoa. However, in our universe plasma is typically found in stars, where the temperatures are so high that electrons and protons are freely moving. Thus, if these are plasma-based entities, wouldn't they be thousands of degrees hot and immediately burn anything near them? Does this mean Cthulhu and Ghatanothoa can only exist in our universe within a star? Also, there is so much energy in intensely hot plasma, that the very geometry of space-time will distort and the dimensionality of space-time could actually change (Kaku, 1994). Are Cthulhu and Ghatanothoa possibly channeling their intense heat and energy into another dimension to keep their relatively plasma-like properties while existing in our space-time and without burning it up?
Ghatanothoa by Jack Rezz (www.deviantart.com)
Next time I will attempt to explain these strange properties of Cthulhu and Ghatanothoa by discussing their possible origins. Also, I just wanted to let everyone know that Steve Maschuck and I will be attending the NecronomiCon later this month in Providence Rhode Island. I will be giving a presentation on "The Lovecraftian Cosmos" and I will be on a panel about Lovecraft and Science. If you are attending, I would love to meet and chat! Also, I will try to post some material on the WordPress page during the convention. Thank you – Fred.
Notes from Yuggoth part 5 (a depleting atmosphere)
July 19, 2015 Solar SystemCthulhu, plasma, Pluto, Yuggothflubnow
Given the relatively small size of Pluto, it may seem unlikely that the dwarf planet has an atmosphere. However, the instruments on New Horizons have indeed detected a nitrogen-rich atmosphere as far as 1,000 miles above Pluto's surface. It turns out that the dwarf planet's atmosphere is being stripped away by the sun's solar winds. A "tail" of cold, dense, ionized gas has been detected trailing 48,000 to 68,000 miles beyond Pluto.
Artist's conception of solar winds striking Pluto's atmosphere (www.nasa.gov)
The solar winds are a constant stream of electrically charged particles emitted by the sun in all directions. The average distance of Pluto from the sun is about 3.67 billion miles (approximately 39.5 astronomical units also known as AUs; Earth is approximately 1 AU from the sun). The solar winds hit Pluto and push its atmosphere into space, mostly composed of nitrogen ions. Ionized gas is created when energy (solar winds) slams into gas particles, stripping electrons off of atoms. In turn, this creates plasma, the fourth state of matter which is rare on Earth but is the most abundant form of matter in the Universe.
It has been hypothesized that Cthulhu itself is composed of an extra-dimensional form of plasma, a sort of alien ionized matter crammed into our 4-dimensional space-time. Such a hypothesize would explain the fluidity and strange shape / size changing abilities of Cthulhu as well as its "weakness" relative to existing in our space-time (e.g. imprisoned and asleep in R'lyeh in the bottom of the Pacific Ocean). Maybe additional investigations into Pluto's atmosphere will contribute toward a better understanding of Cthulhu and many of the other Old Ones!
Cthulhu is more than like composed of a form of alien plasma; artwork by Uncannyknack (www.deviantart.com)
The Dunwich Horror and the Relationships Among Shub-Niggurath, Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth
April 26, 2015 The Dunwich HorrorCthulhu, dark energy, dark matter, H.P. Lovecraft, Shub-Niggurath, The Call of Cthulhu, The Dunwich Horror, Yog-Sothothflubnow
Yog-Sothoth by Micheal Bukowski (yog-blogsoth.blogspot.com)
As identified the "Genealogy of the Elder Races," Yog-Sothoth may be thought of as the "grandfather" of Cthulhu. A "sexual" union or merging between Yog-Sothoth and Shub-Niggurath, produced Nug and Yeb, who in turn gave rise asexually to Cthulhu and Tsathoggua, respectively. I feel very awkward using such human or even Terran terms such as grandfather and sexual when describing the relationships among these entities since their biology, and possibly their physical and chemical nature, is very different from ours. Sexual implies, at least relative to life on Earth, a re-shuffling or recombination of genetic material from mother and father to produce offspring with a slightly different genome; not an exact copy of the mother or an exact copy of the father. In turn, this increased genetic variation may be better adapted; this is one of the genetic engines that drive natural selection. However, in the case of Old Ones, such Earth-definitions more than likely do not apply.
Instead of grandfather, the relationship between Yog-Sothoth and Cthulhu maybe better described as Cthulhu being the offspring of Yog-Sothoth on generation away. The reason for this more nebulous description is the fact that Cthulhu was produced from Nug through a form of undocumented asexual reproduction. Was this simply a case of Nug getting large enough and splitting into two distinct entities like an amoeba? Or did Cthulhu "bud" off of Nug in a manner similar to that observed in bryozoans or coral? Or was Cthulhu a fragment or piece of Nug that broke off to develop on its own, floating in the inter-dimensional foam? Such growth through fragmentation commonly occurs in many invasive freshwater plants such as Eurasian watermilfoil or hydrilla. However, none of these terms well represent the relationship between Nug and Cthulhu since all of these forms of asexual reproduction result in clones; the offspring are exact copies of the parent whether we are talking about amoebas, bryozoans or aquatic plants. Based on what little information we have Cthulhu does not appear to be a clone of Nug. Thus, our limited experience with Earth-based biology cannot be used to accurately describe this strange relationship.
Illustrations of bryozoans by Ernst Haeckel (www.wikipedia.org)
So do we know any more about the relationship between Yog-Sothoth and Cthulhu? Yog-Sothoth is not mentioned in "The Call of Cthulhu" but Cthulhu is mentioned in "The Dunwich Horror." In "The Dunwich Horror" as Wilbur Whateley is reading the Necronomicon in the library of Miskatonic University, Dr. Henry Armitage looks over Wilbur's shoulder to see what passage he is reading. It is this passage where we hear about the Old Ones and that "Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth." As mentioned in the previous article this passage indicates that Yog-Sothoth is somehow the source or connection between the Old Ones and our reality. In addition, it also refers to the fact that the concept of time is very different to Yog-Sothoth.
Getting back to Cthulhu, the passage does briefly mentions other Old Ones including Great Cthulhu who is referred to as a cousin that can only dimly spy them (the other Old Ones) and Shub-Niggurath is also briefly mentioned. While this passage may seem contradictory relative to the "Genealogy of the Elder Races," it emphasizes the point that the typical genetic, family-based relationships we are so familiar with in describing many eukaryotic organisms on Earth do not apply to the Old Ones. These descriptions are only feeble attempts for us to understanding the true nature of the Old Ones.
Cthulhu by Damnengine (www.deviantart.com)
As mentioned earlier, Earth-based biology is obviously very limited in describing the sexual union between Yog-Sothoth and Shub-Niggurath. In a previous article I hypothesized that the sexual union between these entities may not be a re-shuffling of genetic material. Instead, it may represent the birth or creation of matter that is more stable in our existing space-time. As previously hypothesized, the "Darkness" that directly created Shub-Niggurath maybe a manifestation of Dark Matter, which accounts for approximately 23-27% of the stuff in our Universe. In turn, "The Nameless Mist" that created Yog-Sothoth may be a manifestation of Dark Energy, which accounts for another 68-73% of the stuff in our Universe. This means that the matter we are familiar with, all life, all of the Earth, the planets, the sun and stars, the gases of the nebulae, everything are know and understand as matter only accounts for between 4-5% of the stuff in our Universe.
Dark matter and dark energy are not called "dark" because they are distant or invisible; they do not represent black holes or the deep vacuum of space. They are described as dark simply because they are completely unknown to us (The 4% Universe by Richard Panek, 2011) and how we perceive reality. Scientists have over the years begrudgingly recognized dark matter and dark energy primarily due to the fact that most information to date point to an expanding universe, which indicates something must have some type of anti-gravity property to overcome the natural gravitation attraction matter, in turn allowing for the expansion of the universe (www.nasa.gov). Since the matter we are familiar with accounts for such as small portion of the stuff in the universe, some have called our known matter to be just a bit of pollution in our space-time and seem to be completely irrelevant to the cosmos (Richard Panek, 2011). Yog-Sothoth as the gate and opener of the way may have channeled the alien energy from the Big Bang into the alien matter manifested as Shub-Niggurath.
Yog-Sothoth by Hvergi (www.comicvine.com)
Thus, the sexual union between Yog-Sothoth and Shub-Niggurath may represent the creation of that 4-5% of known matter from the dark matter and dark energy of the proto-universe. So Azathoth may have been the Big Bang (more on that later) giving rise to the proto-universe, which in turn cooled and expanded. This then would have created The Nameless Mist (dark energy) which gave rise to Yog-Sothoth and the Darkness (dark matter) which gave rise to Shub-Niggurath. In turn, the "sexual" union produced matter as we know it (Nug and Yeb). Obviously, all of this is highly speculative, with hypotheses that will probably never be tested. However, if we eventually develop the technology and understanding to actually detect or measure dark energy and dark matter, it may be possible to determine if sentience or a cognizant presence is associated with 95-96% of the universe.
All of the Old Ones appear to be limited in how they can exist in our space-time in a stable, physical form. This explains their nebulous appearances; as previously described we are not observing their true nature, only a fraction of their forms squeezed into our three spatial and one temporal reality. However, this does not prevent them from attempting to open the way into our reality. For Cthulhu the attempted method is to enter the dreams of beings in our space-time to awaken him. For Shub-Niggurath it is the creation of the Dark Young. For Yog-Sothoth it is the attempted hybridization with Lavinia Whatley and next time we will discuss the Whateley family. Thank you – Fred.
Yog-Sothoth, the Lurker at the Threshold by Dr. Hoz (www.davidjrodger.files.wordpress.com)
Nug and Yeb – Offspring of Shub-Niggurath and Yog-Sothoth
January 2, 2015 Shub-NiggurathCthulhu, H.P. Lovecraft, Joe Pulver, matter and antimatter, Nub and Yeb, Robert M. Price, Shub-Niggurath, Tsathoggua, Yog-Sothothflubnow
As we have cited a number of times in the discussions of Shub-Niggurath, she and Yog-Sothoth reproduced in some sexual manner to produce Nug and Yeb. Again, we are defining sex in the biological / evolutionary sense – that is, there was an exchange and recombination of hereditary information between Shub-Niggurath and Yog-Sothoth, which resulted in progeny – Nug and Yeb.
Nug and Yeb by David Lewis Johnson (www.ironimageindustries.blogspot.com)
As described in Robert M. Price's excellent article "On the Natures of Nug and Yeb" (Dissecting Cthulhu: Essays on the Cthulhu Mythos, edited by S.T. Joshi, 2011), very little is known of these two entities. This is in spite of the fact that Nug is the "parent" of Cthulhu and Yeb is the "parent" of Tsathoggua as a result of asexual reproduction (budding or fission). Dr. Price hypothesizes, based on HPL's stories and letters that one of the reasons why Nug and Yeb are not very well known on Earth is due to the fact that these entities never resided on or visited Earth. This is in sharp contrast to Cthulhu who currently resides on Earth in stasis and Tsathoggua who has resided on Earth and Saturn during various periods in the history of our solar system.
In the revision story "The Mound" Nug and Yeb are worshipped by underground dwellers who are presumably not natives of the Earth. In that tale the protagonist mentions that the rites and ceremonies of Nug and Yeb are particularly perverse and abhorrent; so much so that he refuses to describe them. Other underground shrines of Nug and Yeb have been identified in Irem, the City of Pillars, located in the Crimson Desert.
As mentioned earlier, besides being the asexual parents of Cthulhu and Tsathoggua, little is known of Nug and Yeb. What we do know is largely from HPL's letters and not his stories. For example, as cited by Dr. Price, in a letter from September 1936 HPL describes Nug and Yeb as being twins, each one being spherical or oval in shape with a diameter of approximately 10 feet. Other than that HPL described Nug and Yeb as being "a bit destructive sometimes" and having the ability to dissolve matter.
Great Old Ones Nug and Yeb by Henry Teh8th (www.deviantart.com)
In "The Black Litany of Nug and Yeb" (Blood Will Have Its Season by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr., 2009; Kindle edition 2013) Nug and Yeb are described as dragons of black and red, respectively, and are identified as preparing the way for their Father. Using HPL's Table of Genealogy for the Old Ones their father is Yog-Sothoth. Thus, similar to Wilbur Whateley and his twin in "The Dunwich Horror," the coming of Nug and Yeb would apparently make substantial modifications to the existing ecosphere of Earth. These modifications focus primarily on using "ill-frost" and "black fire" to cleanse the Earth. While this obviously includes ending humanity's dominance over the Earth, it more than likely also includes additional modifications to the ecosphere, such as changing the planet's mean ambient temperature (e.g. altering the position of the Earth relative to the sun?), changing the chemical composition of the atmosphere, oceans and freshwater ecosystems, as well as possibly making major topographic alterations. It may also include more intra-atomic modifications that may very well change the nature and structure of matter in this part of the universe (for more on that see below).
Cover artwork by Steve Santiago
Whatever the global (or possibly universal) changes are, Pulver's Black Litany of Nug and Yeb supports the idea that Nug and Yeb serve a critical role in opening the way to the Old Ones. While Yog-Sothoth may be the gateway and Cthulhu and Shub-Niggurath may be some of the entities that would dominant and control the Earth, it does appear that Nug and Yeb are the "engineers," responsible for making the Earth conducive for the Old Ones. This may be another reason why the Old Ones appear to be "weak" in our ecosphere; until a proactive wizard such as one of the Whateley's or Nub and Yeb modify and "cleanse" the Earth, the Old Ones cannot successfully take hold and establish themselves in our universe.
While most of the existing evidence, as small as it is, supports the idea of Nug and Yeb being responsible for modifying the Earth to make it more conducive for the establishment of the Old Ones, there is an alternative hypothesis for these entities. In a number of instances, besides being described as twins, Nug and Yeb are also described as being cosmic opposites. For example, in Irem the yin-yang symbol was found in a number of shrines dedicated to Nug and Yeb (The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, 2nd edition by Daniel Harms, 1998). This polar opposite perspective, coupled with the role in ushering in a new reality for the Old Ones to dwell, may indicate that Nug and Yeb are possibly physical, sentient manifestations of matter and antimatter. If their mother Shub-Niggurath ushered "matter" into our reality, the introduction of equal portions of Nug and Yeb to our universe at the exact set of space-time coordinates through the gateway of Yog-Sothoth may annihilate the universe, possibly re-starting the cycle of energy creating matter (Azathoth). This hypothesis goes beyond merely modifying the Earth to make it more conducive for the Old Ones; however, it would help to explain why we know so little of Nug and Yeb – once we meet them our universe, our reality is eliminated.
Nug and Yeb by Michael Bukowski (www.yog-blogsoth.blogspot.com)
Next time we will go back to the story "The Rats in the Walls" and discuss the role of cannibalism in that tale. Also, if you are interested in more Lovecraftian Science, please check out the Kickstarter campaign at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1081353216/lovecraftian-science-volume-1.
Thank you – Fred.
Development of Lovecraftian Science, Volume 1 – update
December 28, 2014 UncategorizedCthulhu, H.P. Lovecraft, Kickstarter, Lovecraftian Scienceflubnow
Hey everyone – just wanted to let you know that there is an updated illustration on https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1081353216/lovecraftian-science-volume-1.
If you are interested in more Lovecraftian Science, please consider contributing to the Kickstarter for an electronic version of Volume 1. Thank you – Fred.
Shub-Niggurath: biological highway to other dimensions
December 14, 2014 Shub-Niggurathasexual reproduction, Bobby Derie, Cthulhu, H.P. Lovecraft, Leslie S. Klinger, Nug, Robert M. Price, S.T. Joshi, Sexual reproduction, Shub-Niggurath, Tsathoggua, Yeb, Yog-Sothothflubnow
I am going to temporarily divert the discussion away from "The Ralls in the Walls" to spend some time discussing Shub-Niggurath. One of the reasons for this is that the Lovecraftian entity of the month on the Lovecraft Eternal Facebook page is Shub-Niggurath .
Shub-Niggurath by Muzski (www.deivantart.com)
As the great Robert M. Price identifies in his introductory comments in The Shub-Niggurath Cycle: Tales of the Black Goat with a Thousand Young (Chaosium, 1994), Shub-Niggurath is one of HPL's most interesting trans-dimensional entities. She (more on that later) first appears in "The Last Test," co-written with Adolphe de Castro, which is one of HPL's revision mythos stories. However, unlike some of the other revision mythos entities Shub-Niggurath freely crossed over into HPL's main mythos stories. While she does not make an actual appearance in any of his stories, she is frequently referred to in a number of HPL's stories such as "The Dunwich Horror" and "The Whisperer in Darkness" and "The Dreams in the Witch-House."
So what is Shub-Niggurath? Based on a letter to Willis Conover dated 1 September 1936 HPL states that she was a "hellish cloud-like entity" ("On the Natures of Nug and Yeb by Robert M. Price, in Dissecting Cthulhu: Essays on the Cthulhu Mythos, edited by S.T. Joshi, 2011). Shub-Niggurath is frequently referred to as the Black Goat of the Wood with a Thousand Young. As with any of the Old One entities, we are limited by our human senses on how to interpret the appearance and motives (if any) of these entities. For example, Cthulhu is perceived by humans to be a combination of an anthropomorphic octopus with large bat-like wings; as we have previously discussed we can not "see" Cthulhu's true nature or appearance due to our limited five senses since its a being from another dimension. In the case of Shub-Niggurath, she is frequently seen as a cloud-like being with the horns and/or hooves of a goat (for examples see below).
Shub-Niggurath by Verreaux (www.deviantart.com)
Shub-Niggurath, Goat with a 1,000 Young by King Ov Rats (www.deviantart.com)
As with Cthulhu, actual encounters with Shub-Niggurath (or her "dark young" – more on that later) are perceived through the limited perceptions of the human senses. In this case, the prevailing themes with Shub-Niggurath are having a cloud-like body (similar to Cthulhu who was described as being plasma-like in nature) and having horns and/or hooves. However, while Shub-Niggurath is not as well described as Cthulhu may appear, her worship by human, pre-human, extraterrestrial and extra-dimensional species appears to be far more common. Reasons for this may be two-fold. First, Shub-Niggurath is associated with fecundity and birth something that all entities, particularly those species who reproduce sexually (Sex and the Cthulhu Mythos by Bobby Derie, 2014) are concerned with. Second, Shub-Niggurath or her avatars / progeny may have had more direct interactions with the species of our existing space-time and beyond.
I believe the key to understanding Shub-Niggurath can be found in the "Genealogy of the Elder Races" found in Leslie S. Klinger's The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft (2014), Appendix 4. This was originally drawn from a letter to James F. Morton dated 1933. I have cited this chart in pervious articles but for convenience it is provided below:
Looking at the chart above it is interesting to note that Azathoth gave rise to Nyarlathotep, The Nameless Mist and Darkness. This may be the origin of the hypothesis that Azathoth is and was essentially the Big Bang of our universe. As one moves down the chart the majority of the creation of new entities appears to be largely asexual in nature, either as a biological process (fragmentation, budding or spore development) or as a transfer of consciousness from one physical body to another. As described in Bobby Derie's Sex and the Cthulhu Mythos (2014), such asexual means of reproduction are quite common in HPL's tales. Thus, it is not surprising to see that the majority of the alien, inter-dimensional modes of reproduction / creation are largely asexual.
However, it should be noted that there are two instances in which some type of sexual reproduction may be identified. Specifically, the fact that Yog-Sothoth and Shub-Niggurath "joined" or mated and gave rise to Nug and Yeb, which in turn gave rise to Cthulhu and Tsathoggua, respectively.
Shub-Niggurath by Mr. Zarono (www.deviantart.com)
From an evolutionary standpoint sex is basically referring to the production of new genomes by the recombination of preexisting genomes (Evolution: The First Four Billion Years, edited by Michael Ruse and Joseph Travis, 2009). Think of it as having two separate decks of 52 cards, shuffling them together as one large deck and then separating them out as two separate decks (each with a new combination of 52 cards). This biological invention provides an increased amount of variation within a species that provides the raw materials for natural selection (mutations are obviously another source of potential variation). While bacteria and some viruses can conduct a limited amount of sexual reproduction, this evolutionary strategy is largely a function of eukaryotic organisms (animals, plants, fungi, protists). Thus, is sexual reproduction a natural but unintentional outcome of the creation of more complex cells through endosymbiosis or was sexual reproduction "engineered" into Earth life by the Elder Things? Another future topic for discussion.
Getting back Yog-Sothoth and Shub-Niggurath, this sexual union may have generated offspring, such as Cthulhu and Tsathoggua that are more conducive to living in our space-time. Evidence of this is provided simply by the general appearance of Yog-Sothoth and Shub-Niggurath in comparison to Cthulhu and Tsathoggua. The general physical descriptions of Yog-Sothoth and Shub-Niggurath are frequently somewhat nebulous (e.g. cloud-like entity; iridescent collection of spheres or bubbles) when compared to Cthulhu and Tsathoggua (large, sloth-like, bat creature). In addition, this sexual union between Yog-Sothoth and Shub-Niggurath and their birth from Azathoth itself may provide valuable information into the structure of our space-time and beyond, which will be the next topic of discussion in the next article. Thank you – Fred.


Getting a natural tan makes the skin look beautiful, but what to do when sun-exposed parts are way too darker compared to the covered areas?
To give a glowing effect to tired skin, the trick lies in a milk mask along with strawberries and oral medication like anti-oxidants and vitamin C, experts suggest.
"Avoid going out during that time as the sun is at its strongest. Stay indoors if you can to protect yourself from the elements. Wear a hat when you go outside. The hat will protect your face from the heavy sun and give you physical cover from UV rays," Lohia told IANS.
"UVB block protects you against tanning and skin cancer, while UVA block protects against pigmentation and photoageing. So, look for a sunscreen that is at least SPF 30 with PA ++ protection for broad spectrum coverage. Sun rays can penetrate through windows, and exist even when it's cloudy or raining. So, protect yourself no matter what," added the expert.
"Start off with this remedy by adding two ripe mashed strawberries into a spoon of fresh honey. Apply it as a face pack until it dries and wash off to reveal fairer and softer skin. Strawberry will act as a perfect tanning removal agent while the honey will help soothe the skin," Bharti Taneja, director of Alps Group, told IANS.
"There are certain medicines which can cause tanning even if there is no exposure to sun or harsh light. Excessive cold can also cause tanning," Sarangi told IANS.
"Oral medication like anti-oxidants and vitamin C can prevent tanning to a certain extent. Using exfoliating creams and lotions, chemical peels, skin polishing, use of de-tanning agents like vitamic c, kojic acid, glycolic acid, retinoic acid and green tea extracts can also help in de-tanning," she added.
"Just apply milk powder, calamine powder and grinded cucumber over the face including the under eye area. Relax for 15 minutes after applying and rinse with water. The treatment softens, rejuvenates and restores a natural PH balance, thus protecting the skin from negative effects of sun," said Taneja.


text:
package io.bit3.jsass.function.arguments.converter;

import io.bit3.jsass.context.Context;
import io.bit3.jsass.context.ImportStack;
import io.bit3.jsass.function.FunctionArgumentSignature;
import io.bit3.jsass.function.FunctionArgumentSignatureFactory;
import io.bit3.jsass.type.SassBoolean;
import io.bit3.jsass.type.SassNull;

import java.lang.reflect.Method;
import java.lang.reflect.Parameter;
import java.util.List;

public class BooleanArgumentConverter implements ArgumentConverter {

  @Override
  public Object convert(
      List<?> remainingArguments, ImportStack importStack, Context context) {
    if (remainingArguments.isEmpty()) {
      return null;
    }

    Object value = remainingArguments.remove(0);

    // ignore null value
    if (null == value || value instanceof SassNull) {
      return null;
    }

    // value is sass value
    if (value instanceof SassBoolean) {
      return ((SassBoolean) value).getValue();
    }

    // value is already in a compatible type
    if (
        Boolean.class.isAssignableFrom(value.getClass())
            || byte.class.isAssignableFrom(value.getClass())
        ) {
      return value;
    }

    return Boolean.valueOf(value.toString());
  }

  @Override
  public List<FunctionArgumentSignature> argumentSignatures(
      Object object, Method method, Parameter parameter, FunctionArgumentSignatureFactory factory
  ) {
    return factory.createDefaultArgumentSignature(method, parameter);
  }
}


This album introduces the new at that moment vocalist Andrei Lefler. And, as always, the band didn't make a mistake. There is a typical sound by "Mavrick" but this time a little bit softer. Sophisticated parts and structures with great melodies. Every song is a real universe. The cover artwork is done by the well-known Russian designer Leo Khao (also Aria, Blind Guardian, Iced Earth and others, Russian fantasy bestsellers). 2 bonus tracks.


Weaving tales of the raceway into the built environment.
Oran Park Library is a 2,500sqm multi-purpose $14 million redevelopment, which sits on the site of the former Oran Park Raceway. It was our role as wayfinding designers to help weave the story of Oran Park Raceway into the built environment so that future generations feel connected to its past. Working with architects Brewster Hjorth, we needed to ensure the interior of the building is as dynamic as the exterior using wayfinding design and environmental graphics.
There are tributes to Oran Park's racing heritage at every turn: wall graphics feature racing stripes and a slanting, speeding typeface; super graphics represent all the different kinds of races that took place at Oran Park. Even the directories mimic the curves of Oran Park's infamous circuit, cornering the walls themselves. Since opening in June 2018, Oran Park Library has won the prestigious Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue Outstanding Community Project of 2018.