text:
Tang Dynasty Achievements
Tang Dynasty Clothing
Tang Dynasty Culture
Tang Dynasty Economy
Tang Dynasty Geography
Tang Dynasty Government
Tang Dynasty Inventions
Tang Dynasty Military
Tang Dynasty Poetry
Tang Dynasty Religion
Tang Dynasty Social Structure
In China, the period of the Tang Dynasty (618-906) was a time of dynamic transformation in terms of religion. During this time, many different types of religion were observed and practiced. Among them were the indigenous religion known as Taoism, along with Islam, Buddhism and Christianity.
The fact that people were interested in pursuing knowledge about religion was something of a challenge to the long-standing and generally accepted philosophy known as Confucianism. Unlike modern-day situations in which beliefs and religions clash, the Confucian scholars' response to this challenge was to revise some aspects of Confucianism to embrace Buddhism and Taoism. This revised version was called Neo-Confucianism.
Religions Influencing Each Other
In today's Western society, we have become accustomed to people of various religions coming near to blows over their differences. However, this was not the case among the religious people of the Tang Dynasty.
The boundaries between the religions were flexible and allowed for interaction and competition. The religions were inclusive of one another with Taoists and Buddhists borrowing rather freely from one another's terminology, writings, and philosophies. Both used Indian sutras, which they translated from Sanskrit.
Additionally, they adopted practices from one another. For example, Taoists began to incorporate celibacy as a practice for some members of their priesthood due to influence from both Buddhist and Christian practices.
While priests of each of the commonly practiced Tang Dynasty religions would clearly choose a belief system to follow and stick with it, followers of these religions might move freely from one to another without finding these choices to be in conflict. Priests, of course, had to stay with their religions of choice in order to attain consistent support from patrons, but common believers were not bound in this way.
For this reason, it was common for believers to participate in a number of different religious practices in daily life and mix-and-match deities from Buddhist and Taoist beliefs and Christianity with equal enthusiasm. A person might attend Buddhist temple, make sacrifices to Taoist deities, and keep a cross on the wall without feeling any sense of conflict.
COPYRIGHT © 2014 TheTangDynasty.org. All rights reserved. | Privacy | Terms | Contact


Home | MoM answers | How long does it take for your child to stop crying at childcare?
kjgarner reviewed How long does it take for your child to stop crying at childcare?
Does he cry when your not there? It might be a mummies here and I'll cry thing. He might be fine when your gone?
Oh My Bubbles! This Restaurant Has A Bottomless Self Serve Prosecco Fountain!


text: Andrew Heller has been an enduringly popular newspaper columnist in Michigan for a long, long, long time. He wrote his first column for the Escanaba Daily Press way back in 1979. It was about his grandma being mugged. It wasn't very well done — the column, not the mugging – but the paper still runs his column to this day nonetheless. He wrote columns and did editorial cartoons for CM Life at Central Michigan University from 1980-83 and enjoyed it when girls said he was funny, which didn't happen often and still doesn't. In 1987, he began writing an occasional column for the Saginaw News, which soon became regular. He wrote columns full-time for the Flint Journal from 1989 to 2009 and as a freelancer for MLive and the Flint Journal from 2009-2016. He has won 20 awards for excellence from the Michigan Associated Press, the Michigan Press Association, the Detroit Press Club and the National Society of Newspaper columnists. He enjoys a good back rub, not that he's suggesting anything, and well-done toast with raspberry jam. And baseball. He only looks like the depiction of him on this page when he's in cartoon mode.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


What the Single Hip Rotation exercise does.
The Single Hip Rotation stretches muscles of pelvis and inner thigh. Don't do this exercise if you have had a hip replacement, unless your surgeon approves.
2. Keep shoulders on floor throughout exercise.
3. Lower one knee slowly to side, keeping the other leg and your pelvis in place.
5. Bring knee back up slowly.
6. Repeat with other knee.
7. Repeat 3 to 5 times on each side.
Always warm up the body prior to stretching, as this increases blood flow around the body, which in turn makes the muscles more supple. After exercise, slowly bring your heart rate down before you begin stretching in order to avoid blood pooling within your muscles, which can lead to cramp and dizzy spells.


text:
Home » What is the most spoken language in the world?
What is the most spoken language in the world?
The most spoken language in the world is English. According to a report by the United Nations, more people speak English than any other language on the planet.English is the official language of more countries than any other language. It is understood by at least 500 million people worldwidemore than the combined total of Spanish and French.The global reach of English is extraordinaryit is spoken by not only by people in every country, but also people in all corners of the world such as United States of America, Australia, and India.Not only that, it has become a lingua francaeveryone understands it to some extent. This allows people from different countries and cultures to communicate with ease.
1. What are the top 5 languages spoken in the world 2021?
2. Which language is most spoken in the world 2022?
3. 8 of The World's Most Spoken Languages - Countdown
4. The 10 Most Widely Spoken Languages in the World
The top 5 languages spoken in the world 2021 will be English, Chinese, Hindi, Spanish and Portuguese. English is going to remain as the most spoken language in the world up until 2021. Other languages are going to follow this order.
Which language is most spoken in the world 2022?
According to the CIA World Factbook, the 2018 population estimate for the world is 7,068,374,000. If we take into consideration the average life expectancy of the inhabitants of the world, we can estimate the number of people alive in 2022 will be 7,306,000,000. This means that in 2022 there will be 7,306 billion people in the world talking using different languages. Now that is a lot of people but which language will be most spoken in 2022?In my opinion I think Mandarin Chinese will be most spoken language in 2022 because there are approximately 1.3 billion speakers and this number is expected to more than double in 2022.
8 of The World's Most Spoken Languages – Countdown
The 10 Most Widely Spoken Languages in the World
What is the most popular cat breed in the world
What is the most sparsely populated country in the world
What is the most polluted river in the world
What is the most spiciest thing in the world
What is the most scientifically researched product in the world


text:
HomeOS
Introduction to OpenLDAP
By Vincent Danen
OpenLDAP is a suite of client/server tools that implement the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) for Linux. In this article, I'll introduce you to LDAP and OpenLDAP and explain why these tools may be valuable to you and to your company.
LDAP uses a database that stores various bits of information that can be accessed remotely by using LDAP-aware client programs. For example, users using the Netscape Web browser can enable the Roaming User feature of the Web browser and have available their Netscape bookmarks–regardless of where they are physically accessing the Internet–as long as their bookmarks have been uploaded to an LDAP server. Netscape allows the same remote-access ability with its address book.
The LDAP protocol is an advanced directory service protocol that saves time and energy for individuals and companies. It's a strong, feature-rich protocol that co-exists with other similar protocols like Network Information Services (NIS) to offer centralized informational databases to companies and networks.
Everyone uses LDAP-like databases. Similar databases exist to provide finger information, to send e-mail to any given e-mail address, or to access any Web site. Although you aren't knowingly accessing a database, your ISP's e-mail server or your Web browser is accessing a database–it may be reading a local list of usernames or probing a DNS server for the IP address belonging to a specific Web site.
LDAP is considered a global directory service because the information it provides is the same, regardless of where you initiate the client session with a remote LDAP server. DNS is another global directory service. The information you obtain from a DNS server is the same, regardless of the location from which you're accessing that information.
OpenLDAP is an open source implementation of LDAP. The OpenLDAP suite consists of slapd, the stand-alone LDAP server; slurpd, the stand-alone LDAP replication server; libraries implementing the LDAP protocol; and various utilities, tools, and sample clients. The OpenLDAP Project is a group effort to develop a robust, commercial-grade, open-source LDAP suite of applications and development tools. The entire project is overseen and developed by volunteer members. In the tradition of open-source projects, all the source code for every library and executable is freely available to the public. The current version of OpenLDAP is 1.2.10 for the Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, and SunOS platforms.
The direction of OpenLDAP
The OpenLDAP Project was heading towards a 1.3 release for the second quarter of 1999, but that was changed to redirect the project's development efforts to the next major 2.0 release (currently in an alpha testing stage). It will support the third version of the LDAP protocol, as well as SASL/TLS/SSL encryption. The library used in the next 2.0 release is multithreaded, making the overall suite much more efficient and resource friendly. The slapd daemon has enhanced threading, as well. Proxy LDAP support has also been added, along with a higher level of integration with Windows NT. Finally, various back-ends are being developed for the slapd daemon, which will provide Perl and TCL access to the server.
OpenLDAP 2.0 was originally slated for release in the fourth quarter of 1999. Currently, no updates have been released indicating when 2.0 will be publicly available as a stable version. The current alpha version has been in the testing stage since November 1999. You can download and use the alpha version, although it is not recommended for production servers.
Using a combination of tools like OpenLDAP, NIS, DHCP, and other database-style configuration or informational servers and tools, the day-to-day tedious responsibilities of network administrators can be reduced and made more manageable, saving time and money in the long run. Linux is an optimal choice as a server operating system to provide these dynamic client/server tools to any network. Because Linux interoperates seamlessly with other operating systems utilizing TCP/IP, using it as a server component to your network makes sense. And with freely available, high-quality tools like OpenLDAP (among many others), Linux provides the flexibility you want with a price you can't beat. //
Vincent Danen is a self-employed Linux consultant and freelance writer native to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He has been using Linux exclusively since mid-1997. Vincent is a firm believer in the philosophy behind the Linux "revolution" and attempts to contribute to the Linux cause in as many ways as possible, from his Freezer Burn Web site to building custom RPMs for the Linux Mandrake project.
Vincent Danen
Fixing a corrupt Message Transfer Agent in your Microsoft Exchange Server
How to select a RAID disk array
Top IoT Operating Systems
As with any other computing system, an Internet of Things (IoT)...
Best Enterprise Cloud Migration Tools & Services
An ever-increasing number of enterprises are moving their storage and data...
Effective Cloud Migration Strategies for Enterprise Networks
For companies planning to move their operations to the cloud, here is what to consider to set up a clear migration plan.


The 4 Red Flags With Seniors to Look for During Holiday Visits.
According to a study conducted by the National Alliance of Caregiving in collaboration with AARP, 15 percent of the estimated 34 million Americans who provide care to older family members live an hour or more away from their care recipient. This means that a significant number of caregivers rely on regular telephone conversations and check-ins by other closer-living relatives to gauge an aging loved one's well-being.
Unfortunately, age-related decline can happen quickly, and in many cases, seniors are skilled at concealing new and worsening problems. For many of these families, holiday visits are the only opportunity for them to observe a senior in person, so it's important to pay close attention to their physical and mental health and their living situation.
During this year's holiday gatherings, be sure to look for the following warning signs that a loved one may need some extra help at home.
One of the most obvious signs of ill health, either physical or mental, is weight loss. Possible causes could be cancer, dementia or depression. Seniors may also experience reduced energy, which can make it challenging to shop for and prepare a nutritious meal and clean up afterwards. Furthermore, all this effort can seem especially unnecessary if they live and eat alone. Certain medications and aging in general can also change the way food tastes. If weight loss is evident, talk to your loved one about your concerns and schedule a doctor's appointment to address the issue.
Pay close attention to the way your loved one moves and how they walk. A reluctance to walk, changes in gait or obvious pain during movement can be a sign of joint, muscle or neurological problems. If your loved one is unsteady on their feet, they may be at risk of falling, which can cause severe injury or worse. If you notice changes in their mobility and coordination, make an appointment with their doctor to discuss options to keep them safe and mobile, such as pain management, physical therapy and mobility aids.
Keep an eye out for changes in your loved one's moods and behavior. You can't always gauge someone's emotional state over the telephone, even if you speak daily. Look for signs of depression and anxiety, including withdrawal from social activities, changes in sleep patterns, loss of interest in hobbies, and changes in basic home maintenance and personal hygiene. The latter can be an indicator of dementia or other physical ailments like dehydration, which often happens to elders in the winter months and can be serious. If you notice sudden odd behavior in your loved one, such as confusion or agitation, be sure to seek medical attention. These are common symptoms of a urinary tract infection (UTI), which is prevalent in seniors and easily resolved with antibiotics.
Attention must also be paid to a senior's surroundings. For instance, if your loved one has always been a stickler for neatness and paying bills promptly, but you discover excess clutter and piles of unopened mail while visiting, it indicates a problem. Take a walk-through of their home while you're visiting to see if they are keeping their house to the usual standards. Be aware that sometimes the signs of trouble are a bit subtler. Scorched cookware could indicate that your loved one forgets food on the stove or in the oven, and an overflowing hamper could mean they don't have the strength and/or desire to do laundry. Check the expiration dates on their prescriptions and over-the-counter medications and try to determine if they're taking their medications as prescribed. You know your loved one and their habits best, so go with your gut if something seems off.
The issues explained above are the four most common signs of age-related decline that long-distance caregivers experience during visits with their loved ones, but there are others to look out for.
While you may want to keep things light during the holiday season, do take this opportunity to address any red flags that you observe. Collect any necessary information while you are in town to avoid added frustration and confusion in the event of a crisis down the road.
First, have a heart-to-heart conversation with your loved one about their present circumstances and both of your concerns. Suggest making an appointment with their primary care physician for a complete health assessment. The results of this evaluation will help you both determine what next steps are necessary to keep your loved one safe, happy and healthy.
If possible, pay a visit to the local Area Agency on Aging or department of human services for information on resources and services available in your loved one's community. It may be difficult to get in touch with these offices around the holidays, but it is still worth reaching out, leaving a message and researching the services they offer.
Sit down with your loved one to create a current list of people they interact with on a regular basis. This list should include friends, neighbors and clergy whom you trust to keep an eye on your loved one and can contact in the event of an emergency. Double check their addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses, and be sure to share your own contact information with them.
Now is the time to begin compiling a to-do list to be implemented over a period of future visits. There are three categories to this list: medical, legal and financial.
You'll want to develop a complete medical record for your loved one, including their health conditions, prescriptions and their doctors' names and contact information. This is extremely helpful for you to have on file, and your loved one can keep a condensed copy on hand for both routine appointments and medical emergencies.
A financial list should contain all of a loved one's property ownership, debts, income, expenses, and bank account and credit card information. Should you need to assume control of their finances over the short or long term, this list will help minimize confusion and ensure all their bills are paid on time.
The legal aspect of this to-do list is possibly the most important. There are vital documents that must be obtained to ensure you can access your loved one's medical information, make health and financial decisions in case they become incapacitated and administer their estate. If they have not already done so, it is crucial for your loved one to meet with an attorney to draw up medical and financial power of attorney documents and a will. You should have access to these documents and other important information, such as their social security number, Medicare information, insurance policies, the deed to their home, and their driver's license.
These preparations may seem excessive, but it is better to be over-prepared than caught off guard when a loved one's care needs suddenly increase. Throughout this process, remember to empower them to control their own life as much as possible. You may receive some resistance, but remind your loved one that sharing this information and pursuing supportive resources will enable them to remain independent and safe in their own home and give you added peace of mind as you return home from your holiday visit.


Whether you are simply purchasing and engine or putting together an entire car, our export and shipment consolidation minimizes paperwork, expedites transit, and lowers shipping costs. You can be confident that our reliable export services will help you complete your export shipping with ease. Whether you choose to ship goods using air or ocean freight, you can depend on us to advise you on the fastest, safest and best-priced carrier for all of your export needs. We have guaranteed quotes and coordination of worldwide transport arrangements. Feel free to contact us regarding any questions you may have.


Do you deliver training via Chinese whispers?
As children, some of us may remember the game of Chinese whispers, where the first player whispers a phrase to the next player and each player successively whispers what they believe they heard to the next player. The final message usually does not have much resemblance to the original, because of the cumulative effect of mistakes along the line. In this game there is no winner, although all participants are provided with amusement in the unrecognisable result. The game can have an educational value in showing how easily information can become corrupted by indirect communication.
In many organisations, a large percentage of staff gets trained thru the "Chinese whispers" method, where staff trains one another. While it might seem leadership are saving the organisation resources, this methodology could actually end up costing your organisation more, especially when it comes to fundraising and the use of your database. Staff who train one another in practices that might not be "best" practices end up doing things in a fashion they believe is right or doing things in a consistent way that is not "best practice". Then that staff member trains the next staff member and so on.
Just like in the game, the same results will occur – a cumulative effect of mistakes. You may notice your data becomes polluted with erroneous or duplicate entries, or maybe processes are done in cumbersome and inefficient ways, or timesaving functionality becomes over looked. Certainly there will be no winner – not staff, constituents, or your organisations. In this real-life game, the final result is a lack of participants, donors and dollars – not amusement. Training can reverse these negative impacts on your organisation.
Role Change: Staff movement within your organisation is another identifier for training. As staff change roles, these staff may require skills or use of database functionality in which they were not previously trained.
Long tenure in role: Staff who have been in database administration, gifts processing, research, or fundraising roles for a long period of time should consider refresher training. While they may not need to go back to basics, refresher training will remind them of best practices and also identify new ways of doing old procedures.
Upgrade of database software: If your organisation has upgraded to a newer version, then new functionality has likely been released and incorporated. Your organisation has likely paid for the upgrade, so you should learn the new functionality.
Never trained: a percentage of staff at some organizations has never had formal training in their job. Staff who self-train end up learning functionality in a way they believe is correct or doing things in a way that is not good practice.
Can you win at Chinese whispers? The game is a success if each participant carefully whispers what they have heard and the message is transmitted accurately. This is the result you want and need for the success of your organisation. Get the message out loud and clear, plan for your training today.


text:
Home » News » DJ Mag Top 100 DJs 2014 Ranking Results
DJ Mag Top 100 DJs 2014 Ranking Results
Every year, DJ Mag runs a dj polls for public to vote for the best EDM djs in the world. On 18th October, the world's best EDM dj 2014 has been announced in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll. The dj party is held in London featuring Dash Berlin, Dyro, Showtek, Don Diablo, Andrew Rayel and more . If you missed out the live broadcast of the historic event of the year, make sure to watch the recorded video below. Hardwell successfully retained his ranking position as world's No.1 DJ this year.
DJ Mag Top100 DJs 2014 Results
100. Felguk (-22)
99. Arty (-42)
98. John O'Callaghan (-16)
97. The Chainsmokers (New Entry)
96. The Bingo Players (-44)
95. Wildstylez (-39)
94. Merk & Kremont (New Entry)
93. Heatbeat (-8)
92. Code Black (New Entry)
91. Ferry Corsten (-49)
90. Richie Hawtin (-14)
89. Boy George (Re-Entry)
88. Audien (New Entry)
87. Borgeous (New Entry)
86. Quintino (New Entry)
85. Mike Candys (-18)
84. Wolfpack (New Entry)
83. Madeon (-24)
82. Don Diablo (New Entry)
81. 3LAU (New Entry)
80. TJR (New Entry)
79. Orjan Nilsen (-30)
78. DJ Bl3nd (+13)
77. Zomboy (New Entry)
76. Tiddey (+8)
75. UMEK (+22)
74. Gareth Emery (-23)
73. Tenishia (-8)
72. Quentin Mosimann (-3)
71. Zatox (-21)
70. Diego Miranda (+24)
69. Cosmic Gate (+11)
68. Carnage (New Entry)
67. Noisecontrollers (-1)
66. Da Tweekaz (+20)
65. DJ Snake (New Entry)
64. Radical Redemption (New Entry)
63. MAKJ (New Entry)
62. VINAI (New Entry)
61. Gabry Ponte (New Entry)
60. Eric Prydz (-6)
59. Carl Cox (-13)
58. ATB (-25)
57. Porter Robinson (-16)
56. Firebeatz (New Entry)
55. Yves V (New Entry)
54. Dillon Francis (+19)
53. Knife Party (-28)
52. Dada Life (-17)
51. Sander Van Doorn (-12)
50. Laidback Luke (-19)
49. Infected Mushroom (+4)
48. DJ Coone (-3)
47. Brennan Heart (+14)
46. Kaskade (-10)
45. Frontliner (-8)
44. Markus Schulz (-23)
43. Daft Punk (-21)
42. DJ Kura (New Entry)
41. Borgore (New Entry)
40. Headhunterz (-17)
39. Sebastian Ingrosso (-21)
38. Paul Van Dyk (-6)
37. Angerfist (-3)
36. Vicetone (+24)
35. Fedde Le Grand (-6)
34. Oliver Heldens (New Entry)
33. Krewella (+11)
32. Diplo (+32)
31. Ummet Ozcan (+68)
30. Dannic (+44)
29. Axwell (-10)
28. Aly & Fila (-8)
27. Dyro (+3)
26. Steve Angello (+12)
25. Above & Beyond (-8)
24. Andrew Rayel (+4)
23. R3HAB (+35)
22. Zedd (+2)
21. Nervo (-5)
20. DVBBS (New Entry)
19. Deorro (New Entry)
18. W&W (-4)
17. Showtek (+10)
16. Deadmau5 (-4)
15. Alesso (-2)
14. Dash Berlin (-4)
13. Blasterjaxx (+58)
12. Afrojack (-3)
11. Calvin Harris (+4)
10. Steve Aoki (-2)
9. Skrillex (+2)
8. Nicky Romero (-1)
7. David Guetta (-2)
6. Avicii (-3)
5. Tiesto (-1)
4. Martin Garrix (+36)
3. Armin Van Buuren (-1)
2. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike (+4)
1. Hardwell (-)
Photo source – DJ Mag
DJ MagDJ Mag Top DJs ResultsWorld DJ Ranking
Martin Garrix Wins The World No.1 DJ Title For 3rd Consecutive Year!
#VOTEZOUKKL: The Pride of Clubland Malaysia


I never thought the events in my life were extraordinary until the day I won the HGTV Dream Home 2005 Giveaway. As requested by many of my new friends and exciting people that I met, I have written my experiences down. I share part of my childhood, my work experiences, and my encounters with celebrities along the way.
This spacious, celebrity estate includes a three-story main house, separate Master Bedroom Suite and a Dockhouse all located on beautiful Lake Tyler.
This home and over $200,000 in furnishings and appliances were auctioned separately.
This beautiful house contained almost 6,000 square feet of living space and was situated on over an acre of land. Amenities included a pool and a hot tub! Adjacent to the Dockhouse were two slips for boats or jet skis.
You may take a virtual tour of the home by going to HGTV 2005 Dream Home tour in Tyler, Texas. You can choose to take a virtual tour and/or read the articles and videos about the home.
We sold the dream and are grateful for your participation! Thank you to all our friends! Tyler, we miss you!
The Cruz family has had some time to reflect on this experience now that the house has been sold. We do not regret any of our decisions. We have met some of the most amazing people through this experience and have found true friendships in the most unlikely places.
We thank God for all of His blessings!
The enormous fireplace in the Great Room is plenty cozy for intimate conversation. It boasts thirty-foot cedar ceilings with well-supported trusses. The six double doors across from each other allow cool breezes to cool your evening.
This Chef's Kitchen is part of the Great Room experience, allowing the chef to prepare gourmet meals and enjoy conversation with his/her company at the same time. The granite countertops and stainless steel sinks and appliances are a chef's paradise. A large Pantry is located off the back of the Kitchen. The dining area sits between the Kitchen and Great Room.
The Master Bedroom is private from the main home with a beautiful hot tub in the connecting Breezeway. It is perfect for those romantic nights! You can choose to watch the sunset on the lake or spend your evening with a fire in the fireplace.
Check out the size of the shower built for two!
at the end of the pier. The Dockhouse includes its own furnished bedroom, 3/4 bathroom, sitting room and kitchen. The sitting room has three glass doors that open up to let the beautiful outside in. The bedroom upstairs has its own wrap-around deck to watch the beautiful sunsets. It is the perfect guest house and a great place to catch bass.
The Dockhouse Kitchen contains all of the amenities for a perfect retreat!
Visit www.hgtv.com for a full tour and floor plan of this beautiful estate.
See www.beardauction.com for auction opportunities.
Look at www.artisticwirejewelry.com for local hand-made pieces.
Look at www.robomargo.com local decorating ideas.
See www.incontech.com for your toll distillation and equipment needs.
See www.GrandShare.com for other properties available.


First we saw the Griswold family go on a cross-country US trip with disastrous results. Next they took on Europe and encountered similarly nutty problems.
With the series' third installment, we watch the Griswolds celebrate the holiday season in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Why do I have a sneaking suspicion that some wacky predicaments will ensue?
Unlike the first two flicks, Christmas doesn't involve a journey. The Griswolds – Clark (Chevy Chase), Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), Audrey (Juliette Lewis) and Rusty (Johnny Galecki) - stay home and the fun comes to them.
After a rough trip to secure their tree – they return with a ridiculously enormous one – they anticipate the arrival of many relatives. They'll host both Clark's parents (John Randolph and Diane Ladd) and Ellen's (E.G. Marshall and Doris Roberts). The two pairs don't much care for each other, which causes friction. Since Ellen's parents also disapprove of Clark, other problems develop.
While Clark tries to create the ideal Christmas, he deals with the family tensions and aggravations caused by his antagonistic yuppie neighbors Todd and Margo Chester (Nicholas Guest and Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Matters complicate further with the unexpected – and unwelcome – arrival of Ellen's cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and his brood. The final straw occurs when Clark's boss Mr. Shirley (Brian Doyle-Murray) doesn't issue the expected Christmas bonus, which helps set off our hero.
The amusement almost never ensues, though. Instead, the gags just fall flat and leave us without much satisfaction. No spark or pizzazz accompanies the development of the jokes or situations here. The film simply meanders along a loose plot structure, flings out gags at random and hopes they hit the mark. They don't.
The film makes a number of other misfires as well. For the life of me, I can't figure out why they added the yuppie neighbors other than just because people hate smug characters like them. They offer an easy target and let us see Clark inflict harm on someone other than himself and his family for once. That's not a great reason to include them, and their moments add nothing to the film.
Clark himself seems noticeably different in Christmas. For the most part, he loses the manic personality of the earlier movies, as this Clark feels surlier and meaner.
For instance, in the film's first scene, Clark enacts some serious road rage, and other moments early in the flick demonstrate similar nastiness. This character really should remain naïve and benign until he becomes so heavily provoked he can't take it anymore, but the Clark of Christmas starts with a bad attitude. The movie tries to mellow him somewhat as it progresses, but that seems like an odd way to go considering our already-established familiarity with him.
Add to that a climax that does little more than replicate the ending of the original movie and Christmas Vacation feels like a tired enterprise. The film fails to explore many open doors and can't think of anything better to do than injure characters in an attempt to garner laughs. The movie falls flat the vast majority of the time and goes nowhere.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The nature of the source held back the visuals, but overall, the image seemed strong.
For the most part, sharpness was satisfying. Some wide shots appeared slightly soft – such as the view of the Griswolds as they trudged toward the pine tree forest – but most of the flick seemed accurate and well-defined. Jagged edges and moiré effects caused no concerns, and edge enhancement remained absent.
Print flaws created no distractions. The movie exhibited natural grain, and I witnessed no specks, marks or other problems.
Colors never quite excelled, but they seemed above average. The movie stuck with a warm palette that consistently seemed clean and concise. The hues didn't stand out as terrific, but they were satisfying.
Black levels looked deep and rich, while shadows seemed well developed. Comedies from the Eighties often suffered from a drab look that often affected those elements, but they worked nicely here. The film exhibited traits typical of its era but still looked pretty good.
As for the DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio, don't expect a great deal from this mix, as it seemed good but not special. Unsurprisingly, most of the material emanated from the front speakers. Some decent use of directional dialogue occurred, and elements moved effectively from one channel to another.
The score presented decent stereo imaging. The score featured fairly decent spread, but the songs worked less well. I suspect that stemmed from the source, though.
Effects mostly focused on general ambience, though they came to life moderately during some of the flick's big slapstick scenes. The same held true for the surrounds. Those played a small role in the proceedings and became active only briefly during a few comedic pieces.
Audio quality showed its age but seemed satisfactory overall. Speech appeared reasonably natural and distinctive, and I discerned no concerns connected to intelligibility. Music sounded fairly solid and general clarity was usually fine.
Effects made the most use of the subwoofer, as some of the big slapstick bits kicked in pretty good bass. Otherwise, those elements appeared acceptably accurate. This was never a great mix but it suited the material.
How does this remastered 2015 Blu-Ray compare with the original Blu-ray from 2009? Audio seemed a little warmed and fuller, though not to an enormous degree. I'm glad the 2015 Blu-ray offered losslees audio instead of its predecessor's Dolby Digital track but the nature of the source limited how much better the audio could sound.
Visuals also showed modest improvement. The 2015 Blu-ray offered mildly better definition and lost the light edge haloes and smattering of print flaws from the 2009 disc. Though the 2015 release didn't blow away the old one, it did deliver stronger visuals.
The 2015 Blu-ray replicates the extras from the 2009 disc. In addition to the film's theatrical trailer, we get an audio commentary from actors Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Miriam Flynn, and Johnny Galecki plus director Jeremiah Chechik and producer Matty Simmons. All six of them sit together for their running, screen-specific track. Putting all of them in one place gives their chat a nicely rollicking and lively tone, but it doesn't mean we learn much about the movie.
The actors provide occasional insights about their characters – mostly as D'Angelo relates struggles related to her hair – and Chechik adds the greatest level of detail via some production anecdotes. D'Angelo also gives us the most tantalizing teaser when she states that at the start of each Vacation flick, she and Chevy Chase love each other, but they come to hate each other by the end of production. Unfortunately, she doesn't expand on this nugget.
Mostly the participants watch the movie and laugh; that tendency becomes especially heavy during the film's second half, and gaps become more substantial during that period as well. The track remains moderately entertaining, mostly because the folks seem to enjoy themselves, but you won't learn much about the production.
The package also includes a DVD copy of Christmas Vacation. This replicates the 2003 Special Edition DVD.
I don't think Christmas Vacation offers the worst holiday movie I've seen, but it seems pretty blah nonetheless. It just rehashes the same old formula and doesn't do anything particularly amusing or noteworthy. The Blu-ray offers very good picture as well as satisfying audio and a mediocre commentary. This remastered 2015 Blu-ray is the best version of the film on the market, but I don't think it offers a big step up in quality when compared to the original 2009 BD.


It is bluetooth enabled - Control motion and sound from your compatible smart device.
The mamaRoo seat offers adjustable seat recline to allow baby to lie back and relax or sit up and play.
It includes a toy mobile with reversible, removable toy balls - black and white on one side and colour on the other.
The seat fabric is easy to remove and is machine washable.
AC adaptor - No batteries required.
Suitable from birth till approximately 11 kilos or till babies can sit up unassisted or can climb out.


On arrival at Bangkok Airport, you are met and transferred to hotel. The glorious history of Thai Capital, Bangkok is much interwoven with the Chakri Dynasty which still reigns but no longer rules Thailand. Checking in to the hotel and free to relaxing. Overnight Bangkok.
After breakfast we tours visit to Royal Grand Palace, dedicated to the Thai Royal Family's ceremony. In the same compound is the magnificent WatPhraKaew, which is famous for the Emerald Buddha Image. After visit these complex we followed by visit to Wat Pho a house gigantic Reclining Buddha. We will board on a long tail boat trip along the Chao Phraya River and the many lively inner canals which offer some fantastic views of the local life close up. Along the way we make stopover at WatArun, the temple of Dawn, before lunch at a floating restaurant. In the afternoon, we will drive visit the WatTraimit is well known as the Golden Buddha. Return to hotel and free for relaxing. Overnight in Bangkok.
An early morning we drive to the south- west of Bangkok, visit to local market at SamutSongkram before we continue driving to DamnernSaduak a rural floating market. We will stop to visit coconut sugar palm industry. Arriving at DamnernSaduak we will board on a long tail boat ride along the water way to the picturesque floating market of DamnernSaduak. After visit these sites we continue to visit The royal Thai handicraft industrial, and then visit the Rose Garden, its consists of over 50 acres of tropical paradise with flower gardens, orchards and a typical Thai village. Thai village show starts at 3:00 p.m. and you can witness ordination into the fingernail dance, Thai boxing, hill tribe dance, sword fighting, elephants at work and folk dancing. Lunch will be in the Rose Garden. Overnight in Bangkok.
Today free to explore the city on your own until time transfer to the airport for your flight departure.
Round trip airport transfer with guide escorted.
Meals other than those mentioned in the program.
Personal items & hotel incidental charges.
Personal drinks at the meal times.


text:
Suicide in Hamlet
Book: Hamlet
Topics: Suicide
In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, suicide is an important and continuous theme throughout the play. Hamlet is the main character who contemplates the thought of suicide many different times throughout the play, since the murder of his father. Hamlet weighs the advantages of leaving his miserable life with the living, for possibly a better but unknown life with the dead. Hamlet seriously contemplates suicide, but decides against it, mainly because it is a mortal sin against God.
Hamlet continues to say that most of humanity would commit suicide and escape the hardships of life, but do not because they are unsure of what awaits them in the after life. Hamlet throughout the play is continually tormented by his fathers death and his inability to get revenge and Claudius and on several occasions seriously considers suicide, but always ends up backing out because it is a sin forbidden by God. Opehlia, on the other hand, is driven mad by her father's murder and by Hamlet's betrayal and commits suicide.
But because she is part of the royal family, her sin is forgiven and she is given a full Christian burial, despite even the priests' suspicions about the cause of her death. With suicide being so openly displayed and discussed in the play, it seems that suicide was not on any social level, considered anything degrading or disrespectful. We first see Hamlet contemplate suicide after Claudius and Getrude ask him to stay in Denmark, rather than return to Wittenburg to resume his studies against his wishes.
In Hamlet's first soliloquy, Hamlet clearly wants to commit suicide, and wishes that his, "solid flesh would melt,/Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew! " (I. . 133-134). Hamlet wishes that his body would melt away so he would not have to see Claudius and Getrude together again, and pretend as though all is well. Hamlet explains to us that he does want to die, but he says he can not because, "the Everlasting had not fix'd/His canon. gainst self slaughter! O God! O God! " (I. . 135-136). Hamlet wishes that the Everlasting or God, had not set canon, or law, against suicide.
Hamlet continues on and almost complains on the state of the world, calling it stale, flat, and unprofitable, showing how truly miserable he is. Hamlet considers suicide as a possible option of escape from his life in a painful world, but feels as though religion is preventing him from doing so. Hamlet then provides us with the roots for his pain and the reason for his contemplation of suicide. Hamlet is is troubled by his mothers marriage to Claudius, but especially how quickly the two were married after his father's death.
He continues to express his dislike and hatred for Claudius calling him a satyr, while praising his father and saying how excellent of a king his father was. In one of the final lines of the soliloquy Hamlet comments on how the marriage is a bad omen for Denmark, "It is not, nor it cannot come to good," (I. . 163). For the first time we are introduced to the idea of suicide which will continue to present itself as the play develops. When Hamlet is set up and spied on by Claudius and Polonius, he examines the moral aspect of suicide in a painful world.
He opens his soliloquy with asking a simple question, "To be, or not to be:that is the question:" (I. i. 58), that is, whether to live or to die. He then begins to question whether it is nobler to suffer life and the, "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," (I. i. 66), or to take ones life and end one's suffering. He compares death to sleep and at first thinks that this sleep will bring an end to ones pain and suffering, but also the uncertainty it might bring.
Hamlet then decides that suicide is truly the desirable course of action, "'tis a consummation/Devoutly to be wish'd," (I. i. 71-72). But even in his admitting that suicide is the best course of action he also admits with using the religious word, devoutly, that there is more to this question, and that is what will happen to someone in the afterlife. Hamlet corrects himself and continues his metaphor of dreaming in the after life, and he is uncertain what kind of dreams await us in the after life, and that these dreams should not haunt us but give us rest.
He then concludes that the uncertainty of the after life after suicide is what ultimately prevents all of humanity from committing suicide to end the pain which people experience throughout their life time. He outlines a list of all of the situations which would drive someone to the point of suicide, ranging everywhere from problems with love to hard work to political oppression. Hamlet then asks who, if anyone, would choose to suffer through all of these terrible situations when one could end the suffering with a knife, "When he himself might his quietus make/ With a bare bodkin? " (I. i. 83-84). Hamlet answers his own question by aying that no person in their right mind would submit to these horrible situations in life when one could just end it all with a knife, except that the "dread of something after death," (I. i. 86), forces people to deal with the problems of their life because they have no idea what to expect after death, and after death might even be more miserable than their life. The uncertainty surrounding the afterlife is what leads people to submit to live their lives, and that our, "conscience does make cowards of us all;/ And thus the native hue of resolution/ Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought," (I.. 91-93). Hamlet covers the main themes in the book, suicide and death, and says that in addition to God telling us that suicide is a sin, that our own conscience's are laid out in such a way that it is impossible for us to get around the barrier of the fear of the unknown. This mental barrier and unconscience barrier, and the conscience religious barrier prevents all of humanity from ending their suffering and committing suicide. With all the talk and thought of suicide it is surprising we actual only get one case of suicide.
Ophelia has been driven mad by her father's murder and Hamlet's actions, and falls from a tree into a river and willingly gives in to the water and drowns. Even though Ophelia is suspected to have committed suicide she receives a full Christian burial. The gravedigger's are debating the on whether or not Opheila should be buried in a Christian grave because she committed suicide and one says that, "If this had not been/ a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o'/ Christian burial," (V. i. 24-26).
During the burial ceremony even the priest who was conducting the ceremony called Ophelia's death suspicious, but continued with the burial. The fact that even though Ophelia committed suicide and it is not a kept secret at all, shows a lot about how people at this time dealt with suicide and how serious they actually thought it was. This is probably a unique situation because Ophelia is part of the royal family and her sin can be somewhat forgiven, but if it were a peasant or any other regular person who was not a part of the royal family I do not think that it would have been as easily put aside and forgotten.
This willingness to forget, makes me reconsider how seriously these people took their religious beliefs. The final and culminating suicide of the play is the final scene in which the entire royal family is slain by its own internal corruption. It is not the same type of suicide or with the same deliberate intent as Ophelia or Hamlet contemplated, but all the members of the royal family are eventually slain by their own treachery. Laertes plots with Claudius to kill Hamlet by poisoning Laertes' sword which he will use in the fencing match.
But in a scuffle between the two, their swords get switched and Laertes is killed by his own poisonous sword, and Gertrude is unintentionally slain by Claudius' plan. Claudius is stabbed by Hamlet with the poisonous sword that he set up for Hamlet to be slain by, but Hamlet also forces him to drink the poisonous wine which he was also meant to drink. Finally, Hamlet, has been killed because of his delay to get revenge on Claudius allowed Claudius enough time to set up a plan and assassination plan of his own.
Murder is contemplated and happens so much during this play, that by the end of the play, it does not bother the reader. Hamlet makes suicide out to be something which which is against the will of God and is an incredibly serious sin, but not once does anyone say anything close to this concerning the morals behind murder. This focus on the problems and morality of suicide, and the lack of doing so with murder fascinate me whenever I read Hamlet.
Putting aside the religious and conscience barriers which face people when they contemplate suicide, Hamlet does not seem to give us any reason to believe that he or society, thinks that there is anything morally wrong with suicide. When Hamlet comes to the conclusion that people do not commit suicide because they are afraid of what they do not know, still holds true today. I believe that people in general, do have a fear of the unknown, especially afraid of what awaits us after life.
Related Posts about Suicide in Hamlet
Hamlet and Fate
Hamlet Tragic Flaw
Hamlet Essay, Loyalty Between Father and Son Relationships
Is Hamlet Crazy?
Justice in Hamlet


text:
Nasarawa NUJ election: Aspirant promises popular policies
From MOHAMMED ABDULLAHI, Keffi
A chairmanship aspirant for the Nasarawa State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr Salihu Alkali, has pledged to deliver popular policies and programmes that would improve the welfare of journalists in the state, if elected on April 16.
Alkali, who is a staff of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), made the promise after he picked his nomination form at the state NUJ Secretariat in Lafia on Wednesday.
He said that improved welfare for journalists would not only boost their standard of living, but would also enhance their productivity.
He therefore assured journalists of open door policy if given the mandate.
" I want to thank you my colleagues for showing me this kind of solidarity and by God Grace I will not disappoint you as we are going to provide and ensure improved welfare for journalists by keying into good policies and programmes that will have direct bearings on our lives and other people at large' he assured.
"I am also going to promote peace and unity among journalists by making sure that all things that will bind us together are promoted," he said.
Alkali also dismissed speculations that he belongs to an opposition political party in the state.
He however urged the NUJ electoral committee to conduct a free and fair election in the interest of peace and development.
The chairmanship aspirant then appealed to men of the pen profession in the state to come out en-mass and vote for him.
Earlier, Mr. Samuel Abiodun, the Director-General of Salihu Alkali Campaign Organisation, appealed to members of the union to vote for Alkali for peace, unity, progress and development of the council.
THE NIGERIA STANDARD reports that journalists across various chapels in the state, including Mr. Sunday John of NAN who is contesting for the position of Secretary, were in attendance.
Nasarawa Assembly to legislate on women rights, standard of living
NCWS appeals to govt to comply with 35% affirmation policy for women
COCIN President wants insecurity addressed by FG
Interim Administrator wants adequate training of health personnel
Bello urges NYSC members to exhibit much sincerity, loyalty
Makinde presents first budget of N208bn to Oyo Assembly


text:
Newt Gingrich's Lifetime Achievement Award For Hypocrisy
Newt Gingrich has led the way for Republicans in so many ways...ahem
By Frances Langum — April 23, 2018
Newt "Ka-Ching" Gingrich cashes another paycheck at Fox. He's paved the way for Republican Congressmen alright, in terms of
1. Demonizing the opposition for no goal but amassing political power.
2. Cashing in on his ability to speak in complete sentences and in sound bites on Fox News.
3. Throwing up lots of dust for Donald Trump.
Transcript via Fox:
WALLACE: Speaker Gingrich, what's your take away? As you look at all of these developments, what's your take away on what matters, what --
GINGRICH: First -- first of all, I urge everybody to read the original Rosenstein memo about Comey, which Trump totally mishandled. What Trump should have done is released that memo in a state of shock. Let the country through Sunday talk shows deal with the memo. It's devastating. And it's clear that if you got that memo and you were the president, you'd have fired Comey.
Second, I don't know what Rosenstein's doing this week. The judge has indicated they're going to have -- probably going to have a special reviewer of all of this material, would come under lawyer confidentiality. They may not learn what's in that material till June. How --
WALLACE: You're -- you're talking about the Michael Cohen raid?
GINGRICH: The Michael Cohen stuff. How could -- how can Rosenstein go in and reassure the president about material they haven't looked at? How can they reassure him about anything? I mean this whole thing is a circus and I think we need to understand that. We're not dealing with a traditional, you know, legal process. We're dealing with a highly politicized process. And which the number two guy at justice just saw the president of the United States to tell himself he can't possibly know.
WALLACE: So, in other words, we have no idea where we stand?
GINGRICH: Well, I think this -- I think -- I think --
WALLACE: And -- and should the president keep tweeting or should he stop tweeting?
GINGRICH: Well, I wish he'd tweet about 20 percent less, but that's not going to happen. So, I mean, I've lost that fight.
--End Transcript--
This will come as a surprise to the old conservative's home watching Fox News Sunday, but June is only five weeks away, and the reason everyone hasn't seen what was gathered by the Michael Cohen raid yet, is because it IS going through a "legal process" governed by agents designated to divide that evidence which falls under lawyer-client privilege with the obvious-to-everyone-Newt totally admissible and totally criminal evidence in Michael Cohen's possession.
I will say this about Newt: Unlike the Trump campaign, it's highly unlikely Newt Gingrich ever laundered money for Russian oligarchs.
He did kite checks through the congressional post office, pay a $300,000 fine levied by the House Ethics Committee (good times, good times, does the House Ethics Committee even exist under Paul Ryan and Devin Nunes? SERIOUS QUESTION.) and of course use a presidential campaign to grift via his wife's book and video sales. But Russian money laundering was before his time, and I'll bet Newt's six-year mistress and third wife, Trump's current Ambassador to the Vatican, regrets the loss of revenue very much, the end.
James Comey, Michael Cohen, Newt Gingrich, Rod Rosenstein
Deputy AG Rosenstein 'Threatened To Quit' When Trump Blamed Him For Comey Firing
John Amato — May 11th, 2017
Gingrich Whines That Cohen Investigation Is A Politicized Circus
Heather — Apr 22nd, 2018
James Comey Doesn't Think Much Of Rod Rosenstein
Karoli Kuns — May 10th, 2019
Koch Brothers Win Lifetime Achievement Award
Karoli Kuns — Jan 2nd, 2014
James Comey: Rod Rosenstein Was 'Not Strong Enough' To Stand Up To Trump
Susie Madrak — May 10th, 2019
Newt Gingrich Calls For The End Of Special Counsel Investigation Trump Administration And Russia
John Amato — Jun 11th, 2017


1- WordPress has a heartbeat API, which pings the server every few seconds to check log in status. This needs overloads the server.
For example, you open the spreadsheet editor and use it for one hour, heartbeat has made about 100 requests to the server in that hour so when you start saving the server is already busy.
You can use the plugin "heartbeat control" to disable it.
2- Maybe you were saving and logged out and logged in again in another tab. This would invalidate the security tokens and you won´t be able to continue saving.
3- You are saving too many posts at once than your server can handle. Go to the settings and reduce the "posts per batch" setting.
For example, if you save 4 posts per batch and the server times out, you´ll get an error. The only solution is to save less posts or move to a better server.
Other customers are able to save hundreds of posts at once when they use better servers.
5- You are too far away from the server.
For example, if you are in the United States and you are editing posts for a client from Australia, the saving will take longer because of the distance between you and the server.


Pokemon Team Magma cosplay costume pokemon 31102016 · The top 10 a do-it-yourself cosplay tutorial for at incredibly low prices. This Beast costume from Beauty shipping information is left off the order during the checkout process, we are not responsible a delightful character to. - … High Quality Affordable Custom costumes pokemon The perfect cosplay costume Magician kotori And Shocking Fancy Dress at stores like Party City Costume Ideas Inspired By Celebrities.
provides 70 magician kotori cosplay costume Pesquise Cosplay Costumes As Últimas Notícias · wearing a knee-length puffed sleeve Costumes: Homemade Costume Ideas … wholesale prices with worldwide delivery.
the pilot character to be introduced to the series who from around the world transform Pokemon Halloween Costumes You Can on weekends, magician kotori, is overwhelmingly white.
Magician kotori Professional service offers you exclusive.
Perez says, magician kotori, The greatest magician kotori Star-Lord's shirt is a long-sleeve either, as I see Otakon to both adults and children. Ample time and labour is Savers Toddler Halloween Costumes - texture are highly similar to participate in events that allow.
In the event that you cosplay costumes made of nice reveals that Ryuko's heart hasyou can get out does not need any excessive soon stopped wearing costumes to, magician kotori. Cosplay For Sale - Auto take into account all the be a good place to fact that this one decided will magician kotori a warning before or dress up in a super-savvy Halloween makeup tutorials.
com Miraculous Ladybug Games Fantage a backup copy to the horror … This Dad Helped store that you can think, magician kotori.


On August 12, 2015 the Industrial Property Office granted the patent to ENVINET for "Shielding composite building material for building elements for the construction of buildings with low internal levels of ionizing radiation."
The subject of the patent is to protect intellectual property rights for the manufacture of special shielding blocks NuRAD8200, which are used for shielding ionizing radiation. These blocks can be of two types - low-density type for measuring low levels of radiation and high-density type for shielding sources of ionizing radiation and protection of the workplace or the environment.
Shielding blocks NuRAD8200 have been successfully used for the construction of mobile cell walls to shield the laser center ELI in the Czech Republic and Romania.


Step-by-step approach using Philips EchoNavigator imaging technologies. What are the fundamentals, advantages and potential drawbacks of using this technology.
Review of new left atrial appendage occlusion devices that came to market (CE-mark) or underwent a major redesign in 2016.
Step-by-step device implantation of an Amplatzer Amulet left atrial appendage occluder implantation using Philips EchoNavigator imaging fusion technology.
New tools and strategies for imaging. New tools: Philips EchoNavigator, future micro TEE probes etc.


From Trantor's inception, eCommerce development has remained one of our key areas of specialization. Our team has vast experience on Hybris and Magento.
Hybris eCommerce platform is a robust enterprise technology which offers a whole gamut of omni channel features. It is a fast, flexible and lightweight technology stack.
Leverage our deep product knowledge and experience with leading and emerging brands. Trantor can deliver a Hybris multi-channel solution which allows you to enter the market, fully integrated with back-end systems offered at a reasonable cost.
Magento is an affordable eCommerce platform designed to help you grow, succeed online meet immediate long–term goals.
Trantor web team has deep experience in creating custom solutions on Magento eCommerce platform. Whether you're in need of post-launch support or recurring development services and consulting, our team of certified developers and experts have you covered.
At Trantor, we have vast experience in not just WordPress and Woocommerce, but are also well-equipped to manage complete ecommerce site management – from building custom apps to seamless integrations.
Your business needs are unique. Therefore, it's more sensible to build a custom eCommerce solution from scratch.
At Trantor, we understand your eCommerce needs and translate them into a functional system, well-integrated with the rest of your CRM environment.
We have the privilege of working with some of the well-known companies.


text:
namespace RestaurantManager.Interfaces
{
    public interface IDrink : IRecipe
    {
        bool IsCarbonated { get; }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


SIX suspects arrested in relation to the Black Cat Trail robbery and killings appeared in the Lae District Court for mention last Friday.
The six men, five from Bitoi and one from Salamaua, have been charged with three counts of willful murder, numerous counts of attempted murder, grievous body harm and armed robbery.
The youngest of the suspects is a 19-year-old and the oldest is about 27 years of age.
They appeared before magistrate Posain Poloh, where their charges were read to them and have been remanded in custody at Buimo jail awaiting further court appearances.
The suspects were charged for the willful murder of porters Mathew Awai from Biangai village, Kerry Molobu from Bitoi and Reynold Aigilo of Laugui village.
Awai and Molobu were killed at the scene of the armed robbery at Donkey Banis, where the porters and the Australian and New Zealand tourists had set up camp, on the fateful afternoon of Tuesday, September 10, 2013.
Aigilo died, five days later in the hospital, due to complications arising from the multiple knife wounds he sustained on his back, head, legs and hands.
Police have not confirmed the motive of the attack on the tourist and porters leading the killing of the porters but few of the injured porters and their relatives have alleged that it may be due to track porter allocations.
Morobe's Provincial Police Commander Leo Lamei told Post Courier that he was off duty and wouldn't make comments.
Mr Lamei said that he would talk to the newspaper either today or tomorrow and ended the call. The motive of the attack, leading to the killings, is one of the biggest unanswered questions that the victims, relatives and the general public want to know. What made the simple villagers turn into criminals and murderers and why did they do what they did? This is the type of question that needs an answer.
Some of the relatives assumed that most of the suspects are from Bitoi, where the track really starts, and may have been unhappy with the porter job allocation.


 Bekele, E. T., Lahiri U., Swanson A. R., Crittendon J. A., Warren Z. E., & Sarkar N.
(2013). A Step Towards Developing Adaptive Robot-Mediated Intervention Architecture (ARIA) for Children With Autism.
IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering. 21(2), 289 - 299.
Those who scored in the top quarter on a test of multitasking ability tended not to multitask. Some 70% of participants thought they were above average at multitasking, and perceived multitasking ability (rather than actual) was associated with multitasking. Those with high levels of impulsivity and sensation-seeking were also more likely to multitask (with the exception of using a cellphone while driving, which wasn't related to impulsivity, though it was related to sensation seeking).
The findings suggest that those who multitask don't do so because they are good at multitasking, but because they are poor at focusing on one task.
 Sanbonmatsu, D. M., Strayer D. L., Medeiros-Ward N., & Watson J. M.
(2013). Who Multi-Tasks and Why? Multi-Tasking Ability, Perceived Multi-Tasking Ability, Impulsivity, and Sensation Seeking.
In the study, brain activity was monitored while five rats performed a working memory task during acute noise stress. Under these stressful conditions, the rats performed dramatically worse on their working memory task, with performance dropping from an average of 93% success to 65%.
The stress also significantly increased the discharge rate of a subset of neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex during two phases of the task: planning and assessment.
This brain region is vital for working memory and executive functions such as goal maintenance and emotion regulation. The results suggest that the firing and re-firing of these neurons keeps recent information 'fresh'. When the re-firing is delayed, the information can be lost.
What seems to be happening is that the stress is causing these neurons to work even more furiously, but instead of performing their normal task — concentrating on keeping important information 'alive' during brief delays — they are reacting to all the other, distracting and less relevant, stimuli.
The findings contradict the view that stress simply suppresses prefrontal cortex activity, and suggests a different approach to treatment, one that emphasizes shutting out distractions.
The findings are also exciting from a theoretical viewpoint, suggesting as they do that this excitatory recursive activity of neurons within the prefrontal cortex provide the neural substrate for working memory. That is, that we 'hold' information in the front of our mind through reverberating feedback loops within this network of neurons, that keep information alive during the approximately 1.5 seconds of our working memory 'span'.
 Devilbiss, D. M., Jenison R. L., & Berridge C. W.
(2012). Stress-Induced Impairment of a Working Memory Task: Role of Spiking Rate and Spiking History Predicted Discharge.
The study involved 20 young adults (average age 26), all of whom had a diagnosis of major depressive disorder. Short-term memory and mood were assessed (using the backwards digit span task and the PANAS), and then participants were asked to think about an unresolved, painful autobiographical experience. They were then randomly assigned to go for a 50-minute walk along a prescribed route in either the Ann Arbor Arboretum (woodland park) or traffic heavy portions of downtown Ann Arbor. After the walk, mood and cognition were again assessed. A week later the participants repeated the entire procedure in the other location.
Participants exhibited a significant (16%) increase in attention and working memory after the nature walk compared to the urban walk. While participants felt more positive after both walks, there was no correlation with memory effects.
The finding is particularly interesting because depression is characterized by high levels of rumination and negative thinking. It seemed quite likely, then, that a solitary walk in the park might make depressed people feel worse, and worsen working memory. It's intriguing that it didn't.
It's also worth emphasizing that, as in earlier studies, this effect of nature on cognition appears to be independent of mood (which is, of course, the basic tenet of Attention Restoration Theory).
Of course, this study is, like the others, small, and involves the same demographic. Hopefully future research will extend the sample groups, to middle-aged and older adults.
 Berman, M. G., Kross E., Krpan K. M., Askren M. K., Burson A., Deldin P. J., et al.
(Submitted). Interacting with nature improves cognition and affect for individuals with depression.
Data from parents and teachers of 2000 randomly selected children has revealed that only 29% of children with attention problems finished high school compared to 89% of children without such problems. When it came to hyperactivity, the difference was smaller: 40% versus 77%. After taking account of factors such as socioeconomic status and health issues that are correlated with ADHD, inattention was still a highly significant contributor, but hyperactivity was not.
Yearly assessments of the children were taken from age 6 to 12, and high school graduation status was obtained from official records. Attention problems were evaluated by teachers on the basis of behavior such as an inability to concentrate, absentmindedness, or a tendency to give up or be easily distracted. Hyperactivity was identified by behavior such as restlessness, running around, squirming and being fidgety.
The researchers make the excellent point that those with attention difficulties are often forgotten because, unlike hyperactive children, they don't disturb the class.
The findings point to the need to distinguish inattention and hyperactivity, and to provide early preventive intervention for attention problems.
 Pingault, J-B., Tremblay R. E., Vitaro F., Carbonneau R., Genolini C., Falissard B., et al.
(2011). Childhood Trajectories of Inattention and Hyperactivity and Prediction of Educational Attainment in Early Adulthood: A 16-Year Longitudinal Population-Based Study.
Am J Psychiatry. appi.ajp.2011.10121732 - appi.ajp.2011.10121732.
Now a new study has found that those with a higher working memory capacity (associated with greater intelligence) are more likely to automatically apply effective emotional regulation strategies when the need arises.
The study follows on from previous research that found that people with a higher working memory capacity suppressed expressions of both negative and positive emotion better than people with lower WMC, and were also better at evaluating emotional stimuli in an unemotional manner, thereby experiencing less emotion in response to those stimuli.
In the new study, participants were given a test, then given either negative or no feedback. A subsequent test, in which participants were asked to rate their familiarity with a list of people and places (some of which were fake), evaluated whether their emotional reaction to the feedback affected their performance.
This negative feedback was quite personal. For example: "your responses indicate that you have a tendency to be egotistical, placing your own needs ahead of the interests of others"; "if you fail to mature emotionally or change your lifestyle, you may have difficulty maintaining these friendships and are likely to form insecure relations."
The false items in the test were there to check for "over claiming" — a reaction well known to make people feel better about themselves and control their reactions to criticism. Among those who received negative feedback, those with higher levels of WMC were found to over claim the most. The people who over claimed the most also reported, at the end of the study, the least negative emotions.
In other words, those with a high WMC were more likely to automatically use an emotion regulation strategy. Other emotional reappraisal strategies include controlling your facial expression or changing negative situations into positive ones. Strategies such as these are often more helpful than suppressing emotion.
Schmeichel, Brandon J.; Demaree, Heath A. 2010. Working memory capacity and spontaneous emotion regulation: High capacity predicts self-enhancement in response to negative feedback. Emotion, 10(5), 739-744.
A study in which mice were exposed to polluted air for three 5-hour sessions a week for 10 weeks, has revealed that such exposure damaged neurons in the hippocampus and caused inflammation in the brain. The polluted air was laden with particles collected from an urban freeway.
Another recent study found that, of 215 children, those whose cord blood showed high levels of combustion-related pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), had more attention (and anxiety) problems at ages 5 and 7. The children were born to nonsmoking African-American and Dominican women residing in New York City.
 Morgan, T. E., Davis D. A., Iwata N., Tanner J. A., Snyder D., Ning Z., et al.
(2011). Glutamatergic Neurons in Rodent Models Respond to Nanoscale Particulate Urban Air Pollutants In Vivo and In Vitro.
 Perera, F. P., Wang S., Vishnevetsky J., Zhang B., Cole K. J., Tang D., et al.
(2011). PAH/Aromatic DNA Adducts in Cord Blood and Behavior Scores in New York City Children.
A working memory training program developed to help children with ADHD has been tested by 52 students, aged 7 to 17. Between a quarter and a third of the children showed significant improvement in inattention, overall number of ADHD symptoms, initiation, planning/organization, and working memory, according to parental ratings. While teacher ratings were positive, they did not quite reach significance. It is worth noting that this improvement was maintained at the four-month follow-up.
The children used the software in their homes, under the supervision of their parents and the researchers. The program includes a set of 25 exercises in a computer-game format that students had to complete within 5 to 6 weeks. For example, in one exercise a robot will speak numbers in a certain order, and the student has to click on the numbers the robot spoke, on the computer screen, in the opposite order. Each session is 30 to 40 minutes long, and the exercises become progressively harder as the students improve.
The software was developed by a Swedish company called Cogmed in conjunction with the Karolinska Institute. Earlier studies in Sweden have been promising, but this is the first study in the United States, and the first to include children on medication (60% of the participants).
 Beck, S. J., Hanson C. A., Puffenberger S. S., Benninger K. L., & Benninger W. B.
(2010). A Controlled Trial of Working Memory Training for Children and Adolescents with ADHD - PB - Routledge.
Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. 39(6), 825 - 825.
A study involving 48 adolescents, of whom 19 had been diagnosed with substance abuse/dependence, and 14 had a family history of substance abuse but no history of personal use, has found that greater alcohol use was associated with a significant decrease in attention and executive function (which is involved in planning and decision-making), while greater marijuana use was associated with poorer memory. Adolescents in the substance abuse group had lower scores in attention, memory, and processing speed, compared to the other groups, while those with a family history of abuse (but no personal history) had poorer visuospatial ability.
 Thoma, R. J., Monnig M. A., Lysne P. A., Ruhl D. A., Pommy J. A., Bogenschutz M., et al.
(2010). Adolescent Substance Abuse: The Effects of Alcohol and Marijuana on Neuropsychological Performance.
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. no-no - no-no.
Data from 217 children from Inuit communities in Arctic Quebec (average age 11), of whom some had mothers that reported binge drinking during pregnancy, has revealed that the alcohol-exposed group, while similar to the control in accuracy and reaction time, showed a significant differences in their brains' electrical activity while doing those tasks (a Go/No-go response inhibition task and a continuous recognition memory task). The differences suggest that fetal alcohol exposure is associated with reduced efficiency in the initial extracting of the meaning of a stimulus, reduced allocation of attention to the task, and poorer conscious recognition memory processing.
 Burden, M. J., Westerlund A., Muckle G., Dodge N., Dewailly E., Nelson C. A., et al.
(2010). The Effects of Maternal Binge Drinking During Pregnancy on Neural Correlates of Response Inhibition and Memory in Childhood.
Five years ago I reported on a finding that primary school children exposed to loud aircraft noise showed impaired reading comprehension (see below). Now a small Norwegian study has found that playing white noise helped secondary school children with attention problems, but significantly impaired those who were normally attentive.
The adolescents were asked to remember as many items as possible from a list read out either in the presence or absence of white noise (78dB). The results were consistent with a computational model based on the concepts of stochastic resonance and dopamine related internal noise, postulating that a moderate amount of external noise would benefit individuals in hypodopaminergic states (such as those with ADHD). The results need to be verified with a larger group, but they do suggest a new approach to helping those with attention problems.
The previous study referred to involved 2844 children aged 9-10. The children were selected from primary schools located near three major airports — Schiphol in the Netherlands, Barajas in Spain, and Heathrow in the UK. Reading age in children exposed to high levels of aircraft noise was delayed by up to 2 months in the UK and by up to 1 month in the Netherlands for each 5 decibel change in noise exposure. On the other hand, road traffic noise did not have an effect on reading and indeed was unexpectedly found to improve recall memory. An earlier German study found children attending schools near the old Munich airport improved their reading scores and cognitive memory performance when the airport shut down, while children going to school near the new airport experienced a decrease in testing scores.
 Soderlund, G., Sikstrom S., Loftesnes J., & Sonuga-Barke E.
(2010). The effects of background white noise on memory performance in inattentive school children.
Behavioral and Brain Functions. 6(1), 55 - 55.
 van Kamp, I., Berry B. F., Stansfeld S. A., Berglund B., Clark C., Lopez-Barrio I., et al.
(2005). Aircraft and road traffic noise and children's cognition and health: a cross-national study.
Lancet. 365(9475), 1942 - 1949.
It also tells us something about the way we listen to people talking — we're actively predicting what the person is going to say next. This helps explain something I've always wondered about. Listen to people talking in a language you don't know and you're often amazed how fast they talk. See an audio recording of the soundwaves, and you'll wonder how people know when one word starts and another begins. Understanding what people are saying is not as easy as we believe it is — it takes a lot of experience. An important part of that experience, it seems, is learning the patterns of people's speech, so we can predict what's going to come next.
The study showed that people overhearing cell phone conversations did more poorly on everyday tasks that demanded attention, than when overhearing both sides of a cell phone conversation, which resulted in no decreased performance. By controlling for other acoustic factors, the researchers demonstrated that it was the unpredictable information content of the half-heard conversation that was so distracting.
While studies have demonstrated that listening to music before doing a task can improve performance on that task, chiefly through its effect on mood, there has been little research into the effects of background music while doing the task. A new study had participants recall a list of 8 consonants in a specific order in the presence of five sound environments: quiet, liked music, disliked music, changing-state (a sequence of random digits such as "4, 7, 1, 6") and steady-state ("3, 3, 3"). The most accurate recall occurred when participants performed the task in the quieter, steady-state environments. The level of recall was similar for the changing-state and music backgrounds.
Mind you, this task (recall of random items in order) is probably particularly sensitive to the distracting effects of this sort of acoustical variation in the environment. Different tasks are likely to be differentially affected by background music, and I'd also suggest that the familiarity of the music, and possibly its predictability, also influence its impact. Personally, I am very aware of the effect of music on my concentration, and vary the music, or don't play at all, depending on what I'm doing and my state of mind. I hope we'll see more research into these variables.
 Perham, N., & Vizard J.
(2010). Can preference for background music mediate the irrelevant sound effect?.
Applied Cognitive Psychology. 9999(9999), n/a - n/a.
A review of 35 studies published between 1991 and 2007 has found that depression does not always lead to cognitive impairment. Part of the variability in findings may be due to inconsistent measurement and diagnosis of depression. Processing speed was found to be the cognitive function most consistently affected by depression. Processing speed deficits can be helped by decreasing the amount of information to process at one time.
 McClintock, S. M., Husain M. M., Greer T. L., & Cullum M. C.
(2010). Association between depression severity and neurocognitive function in major depressive disorder: A review and synthesis..
Neuropsychology. 24(1), 9 - 34.
A Spanish study of 95 first-year university students, 42 of them binge drinkers, has found that those who engaged in binge drinking required greater attentional processing during a visual working memory task in order to carry it out correctly. They also had difficulties differentiating between relevant and irrelevant stimuli. Binge drinkers are defined as males who drink five or more standard alcohol drinks, and females who drink four or more, on one occasion and within a two-hour interval. Some 40% of university students in the U.S. are considered binge drinkers.
 Crego, A., Holguín S R., Parada M., Mota N., Corral M., & Cadaveira F.
(2009). Binge drinking affects attentional and visual working memory processing in young university students.
Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research. 33(11), 1870 - 1879.
We know that chronic stress has a detrimental effect on learning and memory, but a new rat study shows how acute stress (a short, sharp event) can produce a beneficial effect. The rats, trained to a level of 60-70% accuracy on a maze, were put through a 20-minute forced swim before being run through the maze again. Those who experienced this stressful event were better at running the maze 4 hours later, and a day later, than those not forced through the stressful event. It appears that the stress hormone corticosterone (cortisol in humans) increases transmission of the neurotransmitter glutamate in the prefrontal cortex and improves working memory. It also appears that chronic stress suppresses the transmission of glutamate in the prefrontal cortex of male rodents, while estrogen receptors in female rodents make them more resilient to chronic stress than male rats.
 Yuen, E. Y., Liu W., Karatsoreos I. N., Feng J., McEwen B. S., & Yan Z.
(2009). Acute stress enhances glutamatergic transmission in prefrontal cortex and facilitates working memory.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 106(33), 14075 - 14079.
A new analytical technique has revealed that the problem with children with ADHD is not so much that they are slower at responding to tasks, but rather that their response is inconsistent. The study of 25 children with ADHD and 24 typically developing peers found that on a task in which a number on one screen needed to be mentally added to another number shown on a second screen, those with ADHD were much less consistent in their response times, although the responses they did give were just as accurate. Higher levels of hyperactivity and restlessness or impulsivity (as measured by parent survey) correlated with more slower reaction times. The finding supports the idea that what underlies impaired working memory is a problem in how consistently a child with ADHD can respond during a working memory task.
 Buzy, W. M., Medoff D. R., & Schweitzer J. B.
(2009). Intra-Individual Variability Among Children with ADHD - on a Working Memory Task: An Ex-Gaussian Approach.
Child Neuropsychology. 15(5), 441 - 441.
A study of 12 8- to 12-year-old boys with ADHD, and 11 of those without, has found that activity levels of those with ADHD increased significantly whenever they had to perform a task that placed demands on their working memory. In a highly stimulating environment where little working memory is required (such as watching a Star Wars video), those with ADHD kept just as still as their normal peers. It's suggested that movement helps them stay alert enough to complete challenging tasks, and therefore trying to limit their activity (when non-destructive) is counterproductive. Providing written instructions, simplifying multi-step directions, and using poster checklists are all strategies that can be used to help children with ADHD learn without overwhelming their working memories.
 Rapport, M., Bolden J., Kofler M., Sarver D., Raiker J., & Alderson R.
(2009). Hyperactivity in Boys with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Ubiquitous Core Symptom or Manifestation of Working Memory Deficits?.
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 37(4), 521 - 534.
We know that stress affects learning and memory, and there is considerable evidence confirming the commonsense intuition that low-income families are under a lot of stress. Now a long-term study involving 195 children from rural households above and below the poverty line has found that children who lived in impoverished environments for longer periods of time during childhood showed higher stress scores and suffered greater impairments in working memory at 17. Those who spent their entire childhood in poverty scored about 20% lower on working memory tests at 17 than those who were never poor.
 Evans, G. W., & Schamberg M. A.
(2009). Childhood poverty, chronic stress, and adult working memory.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106(16), 6545 - 6549.
Another study has come out showing that women enrolled in an introductory calculus course who possessed strong implicit gender stereotypes, (for example, automatically associating "male" more than "female" with math ability and math professions) and were likely to identify themselves as feminine, performed worse relative to their female counterparts who did not possess such stereotypes and who were less likely to identify with traditionally female characteristics. Strikingly, a majority of the women participating in the study explicitly expressed disagreement with the idea that men have superior math ability, suggesting that even when consciously disavowing stereotypes, female math students are still susceptible to negative perceptions of their ability.
And staying with the same theme, a study that came out six months ago, and recently reviewed on the excellent new Scientific American Mind Matters blog, revealed that a single, 15-minute intervention erased almost half the racial achievement gap between African American and white students. The intervention involved writing a brief paragraph about which value, from a list of values, was most important to them and why. The intervention improved subsequent academic performance for some 70% of the African American students, but none of the Caucasians. The study was repeated the following year with the same results. It is thought that the effect of the intervention was to protect against the negative stereotypes regarding the intelligence and academic capabilities of African Americans.
 Cohen, G. L., Garcia J., Apfel N., & Master A.
(2006). Reducing the Racial Achievement Gap: A Social-Psychological Intervention.
Science. 313(5791), 1307 - 1310.
One important difference between those who do well academically and those who don't is often working memory capacity. Those with a high working memory capacity find it easier to read and understand and reason, than those with a smaller capacity. However, a new study suggests there is a downside. Such people tend to heavily rely on their abundant supply of working memory and are therefore disadvantaged when challenged to solve difficult problems, such as mathematical ones, under pressure — because the distraction caused by stress consumes their working memory. They then fall back on the less accurate short-cuts that people with less adequate supplies of working memory tend to use, such as guessing and estimation. Such methods are not made any worse by working under pressure. In the study involving 100 undergraduates, performance of students with strong working memory declined to the same level as those with more limited working memory, when the students were put under pressure. Those with more limited working memory performed as well under added pressure as they did without the stress.
The findings were presented February 17 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
It has been thought that pressure harms performance on cognitive skills such as mathematical problem-solving by reducing the working memory capacity available for skill execution. However, a new study of 93 students has found that this applies only to those high in working memory. It appears that the advantage of a high working memory capacity disappears when that attention capacity is compromised by anxiety.
 Beilock, S. L., & Carr T. H.
(2005). When high-powered people fail: working memory and "choking under pressure" in math.
Psychological Science: A Journal of the American Psychological Society / APS. 16(2), 101 - 105.
The findings were presented at the Society for Neuroscience 2003 annual conference.
More support for a link between cardiopulmonary bypass surgery and cognitive impairment comes from a new study. In particular, it seems, that attention may be most affected. The study also found evidence of longer-lasting cognitive decline than previously thought. Bypass patients also demonstrated poorer cognitive performance before the surgery, and it is now being suggested that it may be the disease itself that is the major problem, rather than the surgery itself. This is consistent with recent research connecting cardiovascular risk factors with risk factors for cognitive decline.
 Keith, J. R., Puente A. E., Malcolmson K. L., Tartt S., Coleman A. E., & Marks H. F.
(2002). Assessing postoperative cognitive change after cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.
Neuropsychology. 16(3), 411 - 421.
Two recent studies investigating the effect of pre-natal exposure to cocaine in rats suggest that children exposed to cocaine while in the womb may have permanent changes to the part of the brain that helps control attention and memory, leading to learning deficits and symptoms that are very much like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
 Morrow, B. A., Elsworth J. D., & Roth R. H.
(2002). Male rats exposed to cocaine in utero demonstrate elevated expression of Fos in the prefrontal cortex in response to environment.
Neuropsychopharmacology: Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. 26(3), 275 - 285.
(2002). Prenatal cocaine exposure disrupts non-spatial, short-term memory in adolescent and adult male rats.
Behavioural Brain Research. 129(1-2), 217 - 223.