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QUESTIONS IN THE MARGIN
When I was in college, I once blurted out in a literature seminar class about a Shakespeare tragedy (Lear, I think): "But what does it mean for me?" The professor smiled gently, which meant it was all right for everyone else to laugh, and I never again asked that sort of question. At least not so nakedly, and certainly not aloud.
Of course, this took place long ago. Before the beginning of adult life, so to speak. These days, much nearer its ending, I seem to have begun again to make similar queries about my reading. Perhaps the self-centeredness of youth, so long suppressed in the interests of family well-being and societal give-and-take, arises again as obligations and companions become fewer and one finds oneself more and more alone with reading matter and thoughts. Now I find myself underlining. Occasionally, I even write nearly undecipherable comments in the margin; they are baldly about me in my declining years, irrespective of the thrust of the argument or narrative I am reading, which may be going somewhere else entirely.
One: In a book for the general reader called Stumbling on Happiness, the author — Daniel Gilbert, a psychology professor at Harvard — explains, amusingly, that few people realize psychologists all take a vow that at some point in their professional lives they will publish a book or chapter or article that contains the sentence: "The human being is the only animal that…" They can finish The Sentence any way they like but also understand that whatever else they may have accomplished professionally, they will be remembered (if at all) for that sentence. He then goes on:
I have never before written The Sentence, but I'd like to do so now, with you as my witness. The human being is the only animal that thinks about the future. Now let me say up front that I've had cats, I've had dogs, I've had gerbils, mice, goldfish, and crabs (no not that kind), and I do recognize that nonhuman animals often act as though they have the capacity to think about the future. But ….[u]ntil a chimp weeps at the thought of growing old alone, or smiles as it contemplates its summer vacation, or turns down a Fudgsicle because it already looks too fat in shorts, I will stand by my version of The Sentence. We think about the future in a way that no other animal can, does, or ever has, and this simple, ubiquitous, ordinary act, is a defining feature of our humanity.
My question in the margin disregarded the humor. I demanded of Gilbert: "And what of the human being who can identify no remaining future worth living for? Is weeping all there is?"
Two: When Breath Becomes Air is a touching fragment of a book by Paul Kalanithi, a highly promising young neurosurgeon who was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer just as he was finishing his training and died at the age of 37 while writing his story. (His wife completed it in an epilogue to the book.) He describes what confirmed him in his choice of neurosurgery as his specialty in the following passage:
While all doctors treat diseases, neurosurgeons work in the crucible of identity: every operation on the brain is, by necessity, a manipulation of the substance of our selves, and every conversation with a patient undergoing brain surgery cannot help but confront this fact…. At those critical junctures, the question is not simply whether to live or die but what kind of life is worth living. Would you trade your ability — or your mother's — to talk for a few extra months of mute life? The expansion of your visual blind spot in exchange for eliminating the small possibility of a fatal brain hemorrhage? Your right hand's function to stop seizures? … Because the brain mediates our experience of the world, any neurosurgical problem forces a patient and family, ideally with a doctor as a guide, to answer this question: What makes life meaningful enough to go on living?
Without having to confront the trauma of brain surgery, Kalanithi's question nevertheless resonates with me. As one begins to experience the admittedly much slower but inexorable decline in one's capacities that accompanies (the trauma of?) aging, it's difficult sometimes to avoid asking: "What does make life meaningful enough to make one want to get out of bed in the morning if one still can, or at least sit up, and get on with whatever life is left?
Three: Somewhat more positive are the views expressed by the late Henning Mankell in a compilation of essays, written while he was dying of cancer, called Quicksand: What It Means to Be a Human Being. (Mankell is best known for his Inspector Wallander mysteries, which have been filmed both in Sweden and by Kenneth Branagh in England; both sets are available on Netflix.) I haven't yet read Quicksand, but did read a review of it by Sheena Joughin in The Times Literary Supplement for March 4, 2016. Thinking of life as quicksand is unsettling, but as one grows older seems more and more apt. The following is from the review:
Quicksand is preoccupied with those who are in life yet set apart from it, as Mankell feels himself to be following his diagnosis. He visits a church in the town of Slap to gaze at an eighteenth-century family portrait with fifteen children in it.
"What is striking and remarkable about the picture, and perhaps also frightening, is that the artist…painted the children who were already dead." This is a consolation to Mankell….
He admits that illness has made it hard to read new books, so he returns to those he already loves, most crucially Robinson Crusoe–a story he rewrote as a child and now so important to him because Robinson, despite his isolation, is never really alone: "The reader is always with him, invisible but by his side."….Writing his way through cancer, Mankell knows he is in an ambiguous place — between life and death, like everyone always — yet still "the same person I had been before….It was possible to live in two worlds at the same time." Quicksand gives us that rare opportunity too.
I find heartening these observations about the power of the pictures we paint and the literature we write to keep us, in a way, not alone while we live — and still alive afterward. Should we not make pictures or write on then, till the end, leaving some aspect of ourselves still here for those who come after?
Tags Daniel Gilbert, getting old, Henning Mankell, Life, Meaning of Life, Paul Kalanithi, power of art, power of writing, questions, Quicksand, reading, thoughts of the future
WRITING SHORT: 36/50
[Come summer heat, much of my blogging momentum melts away. Hence an experiment until Labor Day: fifty minimalist posts about whatever.]
An idea I first encountered in a senior college course called "The Individual in History" has remained with me as useful for considering many questions: Throughout recorded time human beings haven't been able to survive as individuals, and have always required the support of some kind of community. But as soon as there are such communities, whether familial, tribal, municipal, or national, they have needed rules, regulations, ordinances, laws – to keep the competing interests of the various individuals within them in balance. That means an individual's own needs or desires may sometimes (often?) conflict with what the community decides it needs.
What is the individual to do in such an instance? Under what circumstances is it permissible to disregard what the community has determined is right?
If you're late for an important meeting, is it okay to park by a hydrant now because you can pay the ticket later?
If you're in a hurry to get home at two a.m., is it okay to run a red light on a deserted street because no cop is likely to catch you?
If you're under-withheld on your taxes, is it okay to fudge deductions because the Internal Revenue Service may not spot it?
If you meet an attractive new person, is it okay to cheat on your husband/wife/lover/partner because you may not be discovered?
Is it okay to stop paying child support for your first set of children because there isn't enough left over from supporting your second set and if you can't be found, the state will support them instead?
If you're a genial, generous boss with terrible cash flow problems (as in my last piece), is it okay to violate federal securities law governing employee tax-deferred retirement accounts to make payroll, because it's just for a while and you fully intend to make good later?
Is it okay for pharmaceutical, insurance and other major corporations (considered artificial "persons" under the law) to curry legislative favor with secret, impermissible gifts and cash because if the gifts and cash are discovered, it will be the legislators and not the corporate artificial "persons" who'll suffer?
There's no end of places your mind can go with a good college education. You'll never be bored.
Tags Competing Interests, education, ethics, Government, Individuals, questions, Society
An only child, I wanted an older brother. Someone who would show me the ropes, protect me if necessary, later on have friends who might date me. Now I'm gender-neutral in my preference, with a slight inclination towards a sister, older or younger. Someone who'd remember our parents with me, remember our growing up together, the places we came from and the people we knew. Someone connected with my past.
So why would anyone discard what I wanted and never had? Why haven't Bill's second wife and her only brother talked for over thirty years? (She does stay in touch with one of his sons.) The two of them know; no one else does. Bill's first wife didn't speak to her sister, ten years her senior, for decades. When the sister died at 89, only Bill's son by that wife and his grandson went to the funeral.
Two of Bill's three nieces don't talk to their sister. The brother-in-law of Bill's sister's husband cut off all contact with his own brother, who later died still unspoken to. One of Bill's first cousins won't talk to his sister.
Bill says it's not just his relatives, and not just siblings. That must be true. My second husband's two nieces fell out over their mother's care when she was dying fifteen years ago. Since then they haven't spoken. The only sister of one of my daughters-in-law not only refuses to speak with their father but to be in the same room with him. That's not between siblings, I admit. But she wouldn't attend her own sister's wedding because her father — also the bride's father — would be there. Neither bride nor father have any idea why.
How common is this? Among Bill's former patients, a distinguished professor rejects his brother; a prominent cardiologist won't speak to his. "Let me give you more examples," says Bill. "No, no," I reply. "I'm writing a short piece."
Perhaps bitter differences over the care of a dying parent are understandable. But what are the other reasons? She's too outspoken? He doesn't carve the turkey right? I'd take that sibling in a heartbeat. Maybe someone with siblings of their own could enlighten me.
Tags Families, Family issues, questions, Real Life, Rejection, Siblings, Silent Treatment
What if I'd been less timid in days gone by? Such as when teaching Freshman English at USC. Aged twenty-two, I would sit cross-legged on the front desk in pencil skirt and white linen blouse, imparting my view of life to a group of sorority and fraternity pledges, a few Korean War vets, and several members of the Freshman football team who sat slouched against the back wall, exchanging sotto voce opinions about my ankles and other anatomical parts.
The weekly writing assignments generally resulted in compositions mediocre to bad. (I was not an easy grader.) However, one stood out. The writer had a strong sense of what was wrong with the world and no hesitation about putting it on paper. Despite his technical mistakes, I gave him an A minus and a "See me."
He was eighteen, and not frat material. Not a jock either. Strongly built, tall and suspicious, he was racking up D's and F's in all his other courses. They were basically crap, he said. He'd pretty much stopped going. How come the A minus? I told him how come. I encouraged him. He wrote more. He never missed a class. He hung around afterwards, wanting to talk. Intrigued, I listened.
His father had thrown him out a year before, for unacceptable behaviors he didn't itemize. He was living on his own and paying for college by running drugs into California from Mexico on a boat belonging to his uncle. (Whether the uncle knew was not made clear.) He'd had girls, but never a keeper. Soon he was wishing for someone like me.
I had a steady boyfriend. Tony was my student, and four years younger. But I'd never before met a strong, angry drug runner who wanted someone like me. I let him buy me a beer.
We had the beer at an out-of-the-way bar where no one would see. Then his eyes asked the question. I chickened out. The next semester, he left school. He'd knocked up a girl and was marrying her. He said It was the right thing to do.
All the same, I sometimes wonder. Suppose I'd gone down the road less traveled. Would my life have been different? Would his?
Tags Anecdote, memoir, Memory, questions, Risk, Robert Frost, sex, Teacher-student relationship, Timidity, writing short
Three summers ago I stopped to inspect a vegetable display at a large supermarket where I don't usually shop. It was mid-afternoon; the produce section was nearly deserted. Lying on top of the cucumbers was a worn black wallet.
Before bringing it to the customer desk, I looked to see who it belonged to. Nothing inside but paper money. No driver's license, credit or insurance cards, identification of any kind. No way of knowing who had left it there. Finders keepers, losers weepers?
Without further thought, I thrust the wallet deep into my shoulder bag and pushed my shopping cart casually down the aisle while my heart pounded. Only after I had passed checkout with a few purchases, driven home and locked the door behind me did I open it again. It held $143 in fives, tens, twenties and singles. I was a thief!
But was I? Surely the money would eventually be missed. Yet would its absent-minded owner remember where she left it? If I'd turned it in, how could she claim it as hers? By identifying the exact amount of money inside? Would she remember that? After a day or so, wouldn't one of the teenage summer staff develop itchy fingers? I put the money away and dipped into it only for household cash. Then it was gone, and I could forget about it. Except I couldn't.
A strict ethicist would tell me not to keep what isn't mine. Another person might say it's not my job to pick up after unknown careless people. When is stealing stealing? I still don't know.
Tags carelessness, ethics, Finding cash, paper money, questions, stealing
THE THINGS WE TRY NOT TO THINK ABOUT
A member of a book group of which I am a desultory member circulated by email yesterday a paragraph for group members to consider discussing when next they meet. It's from Middlemarch, by George Eliot (Mary Ann Cross). In case you are unfamiliar with the novel, Middlemarch is a town in mid-nineteenth century England and Dorothea, mentioned at the beginning of the quoted paragraph, is an idealistic young woman who wants more than a conventional married woman's life and has therefore married Causaubon, a dry scholar many years her senior, thinking she will find intellectual and personal fulfillment in helping him write a great book. Mind you, marriage was permanent in that place at that time. No "Oops! I made a mistake! I want out!"
A truly bad marriage today may not be, for most people, as irreparable as it was for Dorothea. But almost all of us have confronted a "new real future" which replaces "the imaginary." What do you think of the paragraph, especially the part I've put in bold?
Not that this inward amazement of Dorothea's was anything very exceptional; many souls in their young nudity are tumbled out among incongruities and left to 'find their feet' among them, while their elders go about their business. Nor can I suppose that when Mrs. Causaubon is discovered in a fit of weeping six weeks after her wedding, the situation will be regarded as tragic. Some discouragement, some faintness of heart at the new real future which replaces the imaginary, is not unusual, and we do not expect people to be deeply moved by what is not unusual. That element of tragedy which lies in the very fact of frequency, has not yet wrought itself into the coarse emotion of mankind; and perhaps our frames could hardly bear much of it. If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's heartbeat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence. As it is, the quickest of us walk about well wadded with stupidity."
Having been blogging and reading blogs for a year and a half now, I am more and more aware that under the torrents of words on the screen, some apparently quite personal (and often beautifully written), there are great silences. That's certainly true of my own. And even in the non-digital space of private life, much remains unsaid. What's more, do any of us let ourselves hear that roar on the other side of the silence? Don't we wad our inner ears against it? Could we bear it if we didn't?
Or is that too serious a question for a blog?
Tags George Eliot, Human Pain and Suffering, Middlemarch, questions, quotation, Real Life, Things Unsaid
IN PRAISE OF "WHY"
When I was small, my mother often called me "Miss Why." Mine were not the sort of repeated "Why?"s to which an exasperated mother could snap back, "Because I said so!" I really wanted to understand why things were the way they were.
Why was it all right to go to the bathroom with other little girls, but not with little boys? Why did I have to stop being a leftie in kindergarten and start using my right hand? (Even if it made me stammer.) Why didn't I have cousins and aunts and uncles and grandpas and grandmas like everyone else? Why didn't Daddy like it when the unmarried lady upstairs brought a Christmas tree down to our living-room and decorated it with a Star of Bethlehem at the top — just for me?
My poor mother had wanted a sweet little girl with Shirley Temple curls, not a pint-sized inquisitor. As soon as I could read, my parents bought me the Book of Knowledge — a sixteen-volume encyclopedia for children popular in the 1930's, with enough pictures and stories on every page to keep me quiet for a long while.
I did eventually learn to be quiet when necessary. (See next paragraph.) But I still need to understand why things are the way they are — with the people I know or have known, or loved and married, or raised and sent out into the world, or cannot forgive. And then there's the world itself — the smaller one I live in now, the larger one I used to work in, and the much larger one we all inhabit. Why are things the way they are there?
I just don't often ask aloud anymore. After you grow up, you soon learn it may often/usually/always be wiser — or even mandatory — not to probe in front of other people. Besides, I'm a big girl now and probably can figure out most of whatever it is for myself, as much as anyone can. I can spot superficial explanations, smell shitty ones, turn away from the politic ones, the expedient ones, the ones designed to deflect further "Why?"s. I don't let myself get away with much anymore, either. (Why did I do/say that? Why was I so needy, boastful, negligent, unkind?)
Of course, I also now know there's no full and comprehensive answer to any "Why." But without the question, the world is not only mysterious but oppressive. Especially where there's so much suffering and pain — how can one not ask "Why?"
Other people seem less bothered at not knowing the "Why" of things. Some trust in God, believing there are divine reasons which will be made manifest hereafter. Others are more interested in the answers to easier questions — "What?" and "When?" and "Where?" and "How?" — and with being first to pass them on. (The reportorial approach.)
And then there are the therapists, in their professional capacities less concerned with the ontology of it all than with "How does that make you feel?" (Alone with themselves in the night, though, don't they too cry out "Why?")
In the end, all we may have are provisional answers to small questions. A disciple asked Socrates, condemned to drink poison in thirty minutes, why he was still practicing his flute. "So that I may learn this song," he replied.
But we wouldn't have known that if someone hadn't asked "Why?"
Tags answers, knowledge, questions, reasons, Self-Knowledge, the world, understanding, why


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text:
Bridging Cambodia and China with Friendship, Education
Mid-Autumn Festival Special Report
Master Wang and a delegation from the Academy was invited to participate in the Cambodia-China Friendship Summit, and learn from the charity work undertaken by Venerable Ming Yi, President of Cambodia-China Buddhist Education Association.
During the summit, delegates participated in a series of activities around Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, including:
visiting important Buddhist temples and paying respect to senior monks;
participating in Buddhist dharma exchange, plus charitable and educational work discussion;
participating in Cambodia-China Buddhist Education Association Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony.
The Cambodia-China Buddhist Education Association Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony was held at the serene Wat Botum (Temple of Lotus Blossom), a temple built in 1442CE, located south of the Royal Palace and west of Wat Botum Park, a short distance from the Mekong River bank.
Under the colourful murals of the ceremonial hall at Wat Botum, the ceremony commenced with five Cambodian dancers performing a traditional flower dance, as a blessing to the friendship between Cambodia and China. It was attended by notable guests including former Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia, Venerable Khem Sorn, Mr. Hongtao Sun of South East Asia Chinese Federation Association.
During the ceremony, Master Wang received an Award of Outstanding Worldwide Buddhism Dissemination. Mr. Wen of Shenzhen Dongxia Education Technology Ltd also gifted 600 gifts of backpacks, notepads and pens to locals students, to assist them in their schooling.
Cambodia and China's exchange began more than 2,000 years ago. Interestingly, historical Cambodian dynasties such as Chenla and Funan were named by ancient Chinese historians. Today, Buddhist practitioners are continuing this ancient tradition, in furthering the friendship between the two ancient nations.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Carolee Schneemann awarded a Golden Lion; Gillian Wearing to be the first woman commissioned for Parliament Square
Carolee Schneemann, Meat Joy, 1964, performance documentation, Judson Church, New York. Courtesy: Hales Gallery, London; photograph: Al Giese
Carolee Schneemann will be awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 57th Venice Biennale, opening on May 13. 'Schneemann has been one of the most important figures in the development of performance and body art,' curator of this year's Biennale Christine Macel said in a statement. 'She uses her own body as the prevalent material of her art. In so doing, she situates women as both the creator and an active part of the creation itself. In opposition to traditional representation of women merely as nude object, she uses the naked body as a primal, archaic force.' Born in Pennsylvania, in 1939, Schneemann's artistic career spans more than six decades. She has been a recipient of a number of awards and has taught at institutions including New York University, California Institute of the Arts, Bard College, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
May Xue, CEO at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing has announced her resignation. She began her directorship at the nonprofit institution in 2011 and will leave on 20 April. Xue leaves the centre nearly a year after its namesake, the Belgian art collector Guy Ullens, said he is looking for a buyer for the space. Whether the centre would continue to survive without his support remians to be seen.
Gillian Wearing will be the first woman commissioned to make an artwork for Westminster's Parliament Square in the UK. Wearing will create a statue of suffragette Millicent Fawcett, who led the biggest suffrage organization, the NUWSS, from 1890 to 1919, and played a key role in gaining women the vote. The work will be installed alongside the nine statues of men in 2018 during the upcoming centenary celebrations of women winning the right to vote in the UK.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has announced that it will be investing USD$250,000 into the New Museum's experimental initiative NEW INC. Now in its third year, the shared workspace and professional development programme is expanding its scope and will investigate the impact technology has on the future of art museums.
Clearing gallery is relocating to a new space in Brussels. After five years of operating in the city it will move to a 5,400-square-foot space located in a former shutter factory at 311 Avenue Van Volxemlaan, within walking distance of WIELS Contemporary Art Centre. The new space opens on 19 April with a show of work by sculptor Bruno Gironcoli.
William Kentridge has opened an independent art centre in Johannesburg after the closure of the Johannesburg Art Gallery sparked concerns over funding for public art institutions. Located in the Arts on Main complex in Central Johannesburg, which also houses Kentridge's studio and other arts organizations, the centre opened in March with a series of performances, film screenings, and exhibitions. Kentridge said he wants it to be a 'safe space for uncertainty, doubt, stupidity and, at times, failure.'
Carolee Schneemann
Ullens Center for Contemporary Art
Five Turner Prize Artists Demand National Portrait Gallery End BP Sponsorship
Kate Fowle to Head New York's MoMA PS1
'You Can't Eat Prestige': What the Art World Can Learn from Organized Labour
Carolee, She was a Great Painter: Remembering Carolee Schneemann (1939 – 2019)
Trailblazing Feminist Performance Artist Carolee Schneemann Has Died Aged 79
The US Government Shutdown is Costing the Smithsonian $1 Million A Week
'In Mexico, We Never Used to Speak About Racism': Mariana Castillo Deball's Home Truths
New Museum Staffers Prepare to Unionize; Management Hire Union-Busting Firm
'We Are Strangely Used to Asking Artists to Turn Down Their Sound'
A Guide to Brussels Gallery Weekend
Unveiling of Record-Breaking USD$450M 'Salvator Mundi' Postponed Indefinitely
Thomas Bayrle's Productive Doubt


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Q: Find a circle circle tangent using an iterative, numerical, method
Given: centers and radii of two circles
My problem is that I cannot figure out how to use a numerical method to find a circle circle tangent. Using http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Circle-CircleTangents.html I would have some idea of how to solve it by hand but no idea how to do so using matlab/octave.
It is setting up the problem that causes me difficulties. Namely creating the system of equations. On the website above they use the fact that the dot product between the line from the center to the tangent-point is perpendicular to the tangential line. However, I have no idea of how I would translate this into my model. If I used matlab's "dot" function, how would I set up the Jacobian matrix?

A: "Deflate" the two circles until one becomes a point. During the deflation, the outer tangents keep the same direction.
To find the two tangents to a circle of radius R from a point at distance D from the center, it suffices to solve a right triangle. In particular, the position angle of the contact point wrt the centerline is given by sin(phi)=R/D.
The two inner tangents are found by similarly inflating the larger circle.

UPDATE: easy analytical solution.
Without loss of generality, let the deflated circle be centered at the origin with unit radius (apply translation and scaling). Let (U, V) the external point and (X, Y) a point on the circle (such that X²+Y²=1).
We express orthogonality of the tangent with the radius vector by a dot product, U . (U - X) + Y . (V - Y) = 0, i.e. U . X + V . Y = 1.
Let us normalize by dividing by √(U² + V²) to yield u . X + v . Y = t, which we rewrite (v . Y)² = (t - u . X)², or X² - 2 u . t . X + t² - v² = 0.
The solution is simply
X = u . t +/- v . √(1 - t²)
Y = v . t -/+ u . √(1 - t²)

Multiplying by the radii of the two original circles, you obtain the vectors from the centers to the contact points.

A: Using MATLAB built-in functions
The simplest way to do it would be to define the function as it is, then use the fsolve() function. For example (the code is not tested):
function y = cctang(t)
    %t is a 1-by-4 line vector (first two members = t1, last two members = t2)
    %y is a 1-by-4 vector

    %Initialization of centers and radii
    x1 = [0 0]; r1=4;
    x2 = [1 1]; r2=0.5;

    y= zeros(1, 4);

    y(1) = ( t(3:4) - x2) * ( t(3:4) - t(1:2))';
    y(2) = ( t(1:2) - x1) * ( t(3:4) - t(1:2))';
    y(3) = norm(t(1:2)-x1)^2 - r1^2;
    y(4) = norm(t(3:4)-x2)^2 - r2^2;

end

And then the execution:
t0 = [0 0 1 1];
solution = fsolve(@cctang,t0);

Using custom iterative function
If you want to build everything from scratch, you can build a custom Jacobian function and input it to the solving function you gave in the question. The Jacobian function should look like:
function  J = myJacobian(t)
    %returns a 4-by-4 matrix
    x1 = [0 0]; r1=4;
    x2 = [1 1]; r2=0.5;

    J = zeros(4,4);

    J(1,:) = [ x2(1)-t(3), x2(2)-t(4), 2*t(3)-x2(1), 2*t(4)-x2(2)];
    %etc...
end

Using Symbolic Toolbox
Much of the "hard work" in the previous method comes from the fact that you need to compute the derivatives numerically and manually.
Using the Symbolic Toolbox, you can symbolically define the function, and then use the built-in jacobian() function to compute the Jacobian matrix.
Those would be the input to your custom numeric solving function. At each iteration you should substitute the symbolic variables with the actual numeric values (see subs()).
This will make your code much more general and less sensitive to human errors (for example, what is the probability I made a mistake in the one derivative I computed in the last block of code?).

A: As an alternative to Yellow's solution, I want to point out that the problem can be solved with a more geometric flavor of iteration.  This solution generalizes to any smooth curves, not just circles.
Let's call the circles C[A] and C[B] with centers A and B respectively and radii R[A] and R[B].  The square brackets indicate subscripts.
You're also have some initial estimates of the line endpoints, possibly from user picks.  Call these points P[A][0] and P[B][0].

For P[A][i] and P[B][i], compute P[A][i+1] and P[B][i+1] as follows:

*

*Create a line L[i] by projecting P[A][i] and P[B][i] onto the circle.

*Let Q[A][i] be the nearest point on L[i] to A.

*Let Q[B][i] similarly be the nearest point on L[i] to B.

*Let P[A][i+1] be the projection of Q[A][i] onto C[A].

*Let P[B][i+1] be the projection of Q[B][i] onto C[B].

*If ||P[A][i+1] - Q[A][i]|| + ||P[A][i+1] - Q[A][i]|| < epsilon, the line segment P[A][i+1], P[B][i+1] is your solution.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


In the spring of 1999, a privately owned child care company in Granby was being subsumed in a share-holders' dispute. The loss of that center would mean the loss of child care for almost thirty Granby families and the loss of many jobs. Staff spent countless hours working to solve this problem. They asked parents and community members for help, formed a volunteer Board of Directors, and, by September, 1999, formed a new, non-profit [501(c)(3)] child care corporation: "Children First Enterprises, Inc." named because we wanted our company to "put children first." Donna Denette was one of the original co-creators.
We went through several organizational changes during the first two years, but finally settled on having an Executive Director to oversee the administration of the company in the spring of 2001. Since then we have grown and improved both our pre-school program and our school age programs In 2004 our pre-school became accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) [www.naeyc.org], an honor of which we were quite proud. We also converted the barn on the property into a summer-use-only "clubhouse" for the school-agers to attend summer camp (some of our school-age programs function for the academic year out of the West St. School cafeteria which we rent from the Granby Public Schools). As we grew and our reputation for providing excellent care and curriculum by a caring, educated, consistent staff grew with us, we OUTGREW our space. In 2006 we made a commitment to expand our facility. We were accepted into Building Stronger Centers, a program offered by the Children's Investment Fund to help non-profit childcare companies expand and/or improve their services. We purchased 3.5 acres of land and the buildings that we had previously rented. We worked with an architect who specialized in the design of child care facilities as well as a local landscape architect. The result is our magical and wonderful Children First Center!
Our history is based on goal-setting, and each year we are committed to improving. Our Grand Opening for our expansion was over six years ago, and we are already working with an architect for expansion II. With this new expansion, we will dedicate one side of our building (the West Wing) to our School Agers. This amazing space will be designed around STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math). We will also be opening a 3rd preschool classroom, as we have already outgrown our waitlist with only two. And lastely, we are opening a room for younger 2 year olds (Toddlers).
If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov<mailto:program.intake@usda.gov>.


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2023 Jan. 01 - Happy New Year of the Rabbit
Increasing Our Positive Impact in 2023
2022 was for sure rich in learning: we supported more than 20 B2B startups and scale-ups in their growth journey through direct coaching and the delivery of multiple partner innovation and expansion programs.
But we expect 2023 to be even richer...
Together with the entrepreneur and founders we support, with the corporate partners and universities who entrust us with their innovation initiatives, with the students we help and who aspire to solve the most pressing world problems in an innovative way, we are committed to increase the positive impact to the world we live in, more than ever.
What challenges will you solve with us in 2023?
encognize G.K., Founder & CEO
* We've been playing around with generative AI Text Prompt to Image (among other things) since 2021. And our big tech takeaway for 2022 was without any doubt the impressive progress in publicly available Generative AI (all forms).
encognize 2023 Happy New Year card partially generated with Stable Diffusion: AI-generated, Human-enhanced
graduation for ELLA EdTech and upskilling sessions
While several projects have shown some strong progress in Q1, we have decided to feature two of them in this brief post, as a representation of the breadth and depth of services our encognize X-Tech Force provides to our business partners.
First, ELLA, the EdTech Adaptive Learning-as-a-Service API tool co-sponsored by encognize through its digital service launchpad, 「lab4-203」, has successfully graduated from the incubator Social Change Maker 5, a program sponsored by the Nippon Foundation and powered by ImpacTech. This would not have been possible without the support and hard work of ELLA's global Ambassador, Nhi Duong, and ELLA's co-founder, Eric Wiel. As a next step, leveraging the learning from the incubator program and inputs from the various mentors, ELLA's team will engage further with elearning and mobile learning solution providers.
Second, as part of its 「wisdomseed」 service line, encognize has continued their effort supporting innovative companies grow their business by providing custom upskilling sessions to a successful Japanese startup in the consumer electronics sector. The goal of the sessions is to help the company CEO prepare the scaling-up of his company in terms of business and organization and maximize his chance of success by equipping him with the right management and leadership tools and practices.
As far as Q2 is concerned, the encognize X-Tech Force will of course keep all its focus on delivering quality results to its business partners for the various missions it has been entrusted with.
2022 Jan. 01 - Good Bye 2021, Welcome 2022!
Full speed on CRoss-Border Innovation
Who said that the COVID19 pandemic would stop cross-border innovation initiatives?
Certainly not our encognize GK Japan X-Tech Force who has been supporting both inbound and outbound business development initiatives for a large variety of digital tech innovators throughout 2021!
Supporting B2B Startups and scale-ups in FinTech, HealthTech, MedTech, AgriTech, Drones and Photogrammetry platform, Robotics Orchestration platform, EdTech, MarTech, RetailTech, not to mention the co-launch of ELLA, an EdTech microSaaS offering Adaptive Learning-as-a-Service API to eLearning / mLearning designers were all part of our 2021 menu...
And the 2022 menu looks as exciting as 2021, if not more!
Thank you to all our business partners for trusting us this year again in delivering their innovation-related initiatives.
We look forward to further fruitful collaborations on innovation in this year of the Tiger!
* As we love to explore new tools, we've used an AI service that has ingested a descriptive text as an input ("sunrise over mountains with fog" in our case) to generate this year's card landscape picture as an output -we just had to pick our preferred picture from the various iterations and our editing/filtering work-.


The xpand Gap Year – how does that work?
The Life College is a chance to take nine months to learn, grow and discover what you are truly capable of in your future. Make decisions about what you will do, where and with whom.
Each week includes specific learning on the topic of the month, work experience in a local business and English lessons if desired.
Watch the video below to get a better idea of what it is all about.
"Spending 9 months in Scotland and being a part of the Life College challenged me in some way but was very useful in finding my way in life. I learned a lot about myself, my personality and could build up new skills, gaining work experience, get more independent and I met new very friendly people.
Life College helped me to find out who I really am, and finding again the right path for my life. This 9 months in Scotland were amazing and I never going to forget the people and the beautiful places where we have been.
How can I lead successfully?
What will be important for the future?
How can I live out my uniqueness?
Because of the inclusion of job placements in different businesses in the area, you will learn the language very practically. We will also have English classes once a week to support this. Optionally for English-speaking participants, there can be German classes.
Download the document from the link on the right that includes application forms and fuller information (19 pages).


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Rough-sleeping on the Rise in England
Par Alice Summers
Mondialisation.ca, 16 mars 2016
Région : Europe
Thème: Poverty & Social Inequality
The number of people sleeping rough on the streets in England has risen by 30 percent in a single year, according to a new report from Crisis, a national charity for single homeless people.
The numbers of people making presentations as homeless across the UK has risen by 4 percent in the last year, with annual acceptances by local authority housing departments standing at 54,000. Since 2009/2010 this equates to an increase of 36 percent. The Homeless Monitor concludes that homelessness has worsened considerably in the last five years they have been producing reports.
The numbers of people that are included as part of informal homeless prevention and relief—including statutory homelessness acceptances dealt with by local authority case actions—stands at 275,000 for 2014/2015, a rise of 34 percent since 2009/2010. A third of all local authorities in England have reported an overall service demand for 2014/2015.
According to figures released at the end of February by the Department for Communities and Local Government, there were an estimated 3,569 rough-sleepers on any given night in autumn 2015. This is an increase of 825 people per night since the same period in 2014.
London is particularly affected, with rough-sleepers in the capital constituting 26 percent of the country's total. Although this is down 1 percent as a proportion of the overall figure for England, in real terms London has seen a 27 percent rise in rough-sleeping, rising from 742 people per night in autumn 2014 to 940 per night in autumn 2015. The London Borough of Westminster is the area with the highest rough-sleeping count of the whole country, at an estimated 265 people. According to the figures, London had 0.27 rough-sleepers for every 1,000 households, compared with a rate of 0.14 per 1,000 in the rest of England.
It is likely that these figures severely underestimate the total number of homeless people sleeping in the streets. The figures are disputed, with the UK Statistics Authority concluding that the official Homelessness Prevention and Relief and Rough-sleeping statistics do not currently meet the required standards of trustworthiness, quality and value to be designated as National Statistics.
In its report, Crisis recognised stagnant real wages, soaring housing prices—particularly in the capital—and government welfare cuts as the principal causes of this dramatic upsurge in numbers of rough-sleepers.
Citing cuts to in-work and housing benefits, the Conservative government's much-hated "Bedroom Tax" policy and welfare benefit sanctions as the main factors pushing vulnerable people onto the streets, the report is an indictment of years of relentless, vicious austerity measures carried out by successive Labour and Tory governments.
Crisis noted that with the reduction of the total welfare benefit cap introduced in the 2015 budget—to £23,000 a year in London and to £20,000 in the rest of the country—many families will find that "affordable" housing, both privately rented and social, is far beyond their means.
The new Universal Credit benefit system to be rolled out across the UK is expected to further increase homelessness, affecting those tenants in the private sector who have their rent benefits paid directly to them.
The problem of finding affordable accommodation is further aggravated by the government's social housing privatisation policy. This has set into motion the forced sale of many high-value council properties, the long-term loss of properties via the government's "Right to Buy" scheme and the reduced investment in new social housing. As indicated in the report,
"While the Government has stated ambitions for this diminished stock to be targeted on those in greatest need, the interaction of their rent-setting and welfare policies runs directly counter to this aspiration."
Labour's shadow housing minister, John Healey, posturing as an opponent of the government's housing policy and the homelessness crisis, said of the figures, "People will find it extraordinary that in England in the 21st century the number of people forced to sleep rough is going up."
This is pure hypocrisy. Labour has been entirely complicit in imposing the Tory government's austerity measures across the country, with the Labour-dominated local councils in Bristol, Brighton and Hove and Manchester reporting the second, third and fourth highest rough-sleeping counts after Westminster, at 97, 78 and 70 rough-sleepers per night respectively.
Even these shockingly high figures are a gross underestimation of the number of people actually affected by homelessness. Many people have been forced out of their own homes due to skyrocketing living costs and welfare cuts, but have so far avoided being driven onto the streets. According to Crisis, the vast majority of homeless people do not fall within the government's narrow classification of being homeless. Many exist out of sight in bed and breakfasts and squats, or are concealed in the households of friends and family members, on the floors or sofas of these often overcrowded homes. Crisis calculates that approximately 2.35 million households in England contain concealed single persons in this way, and that an estimated 3.1 percent of households are overcrowded.
Many other homeless people can fall under the radar and not be included in official estimates, as it is common for rough-sleepers to conceal themselves as a matter of personal security. Rough-sleepers often fall victim to physical, verbal and sexual abuse if they spend the night in visible and exposed locations and so many choose to shelter themselves in places such as commercial recycling bins.
The number of homeless people found spending the night in commercial bins has risen dramatically, according to waste management firm Biffa. In the 12-month period between March 2014 and March 2015, the company found people sleeping in their bins on 93 separate occasions, up from 31 in the previous year. In the current year, which runs to the end of March, the figure already stands at 175.
Sleeping in recycling bins can have grave consequences. Spending the night in a commercial bin can lead to serious injuries and fatalities when the bins are emptied into collection trucks and the waste is crushed. According to the Environmental Services Association, there have been at least 11 fatalities since October 2010 as a result of rough-sleepers sheltering in commercial bins. Such gruesome deaths, allied with prolonged period of sleeping in the cold and damp and enduring a poor diet, are central factors in the average age of death for rough-sleepers being just 47.
Extra precautions have been implemented by many waste management companies in an attempt to prevent these tragic deaths. Most collection lorries now contain cameras inside their compactors that allow the driver to see what is being tipped into them; waste collectors are instructed to bang on the side of recycling bins to alert any rough-sleepers inside and to double-check the contents before allowing the bin to be emptied. Businesses and shops have a responsibility to lock their bins overnight and could be taken to court if they do not. Despite the terrible risks, the relative warmth and security of recycling bins can still be attractive to many rough-sleepers.
The Homeless Monitor report can be accessed here.
La source originale de cet article est World Socialist Web Site
Copyright © Alice Summers, World Socialist Web Site, 2016
Articles Par : Alice Summers


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Letter | Published: 06 January 2005
Increasing the conductivity of crystalline polymer electrolytes
Alasdair M. Christie1,
Scott J. Lilley1,
Edward Staunton1,
Yuri G. Andreev1 &
Peter G. Bruce1
Naturevolume 433, pages50–53 (2005) | Download Citation
Polymer electrolytes consist of salts dissolved in polymers (for example, polyethylene oxide, PEO), and represent a unique class of solid coordination compounds. They have potential applications in a diverse range of all-solid-state devices, such as rechargeable lithium batteries, flexible electrochromic displays and smart windows1,2,3,4,5. For 30 years, attention was focused on amorphous polymer electrolytes in the belief that crystalline polymer:salt complexes were insulators. This view has been overturned recently by demonstrating ionic conductivity in the crystalline complexes PEO6:LiXF6 (X = P, As, Sb); however, the conductivities were relatively low6,7. Here we demonstrate an increase of 1.5 orders of magnitude in the conductivity of these materials by replacing a small proportion of the XF6- anions in the crystal structure with isovalent N(SO2CF3)2- ions. We suggest that the larger and more irregularly shaped anions disrupt the potential around the Li+ ions, thus enhancing the ionic conductivity in a manner somewhat analogous to the AgBr1-xIx ionic conductors8. The demonstration that doping strategies can enhance the conductivity of crystalline polymer electrolytes represents a significant advance towards the technological exploitation of such materials.
Scrosati, B. (ed.) Applications of Electroactive Polymers (Chapman & Hall, London, 1993)
Bruce, P. G. Solid State Electrochemistry (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1995)
Gray, F. M. Polymer Electrolytes (RSC Materials Monographs, The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 1997)
Tarascon, J.-M. & Armand, M. Issues and challenges facing rechargeable lithium batteries. Nature 414, 359–367 (2001)
Barnes, A. et al. Towards a 'smart window' for microwave applications. Smart Mater. Struct. 7, 752–758 (1998)
Gadjourova, Z., Andreev, Y. G., Tunstall, D. P. & Bruce, P. G. Ionic conductivity in crystalline polymer electrolytes. Nature 412, 520–523 (2001)
Stoeva, Z., Martin-Litas, I., Staunton, E., Andreev, Y. G. & Bruce, P. G. Ionic conductivity in the crystalline polymer electrolytes PEO6:LiXF6, X = P, As, Sb. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 125, 4619–4626 (2003)
Shahi, K. & Wagner, J. B. Jr. Fast ion transport in silver halide solid solutions and multiphase mixtures. Appl. Phys. Lett. 37, 757–759 (1980)
Ratner, M. A. in Polymer Electrolytes Reviews – 1 (eds MacCallum, J. R. & Vincent, C. A.) 173–236 (Elsevier Applied Science, London, 1987)
Berthier, C. et al. Microscopic investigation of ionic conductivity in alkali metal salts – poly(ethylene oxide) adducts. Solid State Ionics 11, 91–95 (1983)
Ratner, M. A. & Shriver, D. F. Ion-transport in solvent-free polymers. Chem. Rev. 88, 109–124 (1988)
Angell, C. A., Liu, C. & Sanchez, E. Rubbery solid electrolytes with dominant cationic transport and high ambient conductivity. Nature 362, 137–139 (1993)
Gadjourova, Z., Martin y Marero, D., Andersen, K. H., Andreev, Y. G. & Bruce, P. G. Structures of the polymer electrolyte complexes PEO6:LiXF6 (X = P,Sb), determined from neutron powder diffraction data. Chem. Mater. 13, 1282–1285 (2001)
Sylla, S., Sanchez, J.-Y. & Armand, M. Electrochemical study of linear and crosslinked POE-based polymer electrolytes. Electrochim. Acta 37, 1699–1701 (1992)
MacFarlane, D. R., Huang, J. H. & Forsyth, M. Lithium-doped plastic crystal electrolytes exhibiting fast ion conduction for secondary batteries. Nature 402, 792–794 (1999)
Forsyth, M., Huang, J. & MacFarlane, D. R. Lithium doped N-methyl-N-ethylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) amide fast-ion conducting plastic crystals. J. Mater. Chem. 10, 2259–2265 (2000)
P.G.B. is indebted to The Royal Society, the EU and the EPSRC for financial support.
School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, UK, St Andrews, KY16 9ST
Alasdair M. Christie
, Scott J. Lilley
, Edward Staunton
, Yuri G. Andreev
& Peter G. Bruce
Search for Alasdair M. Christie in:
Search for Scott J. Lilley in:
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Correspondence to Peter G. Bruce.
Characterization of biodegradable solid polymer electrolyte system based on agar-NH4Br and its comparison with NH4I
S. Selvalakshmi
, T. Mathavan
, S. Selvasekarapandian
& M. Premalatha
Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry (2019)
Fundamental parameters governing ion conductivity in polymer electrolytes
A. Kisliuk
, V. Bocharova
, I. Popov
, C. Gainaru
& A.P. Sokolov
Electrochimica Acta (2019)
High-Safety All-Solid-State Lithium-Metal Battery with High-Ionic-Conductivity Thermoresponsive Solid Polymer Electrolyte
Jinqiu Zhou
, Tao Qian
, Jie Liu
, Mengfan Wang
, Li Zhang
& Chenglin Yan
Nano Letters (2019)
Effects of the shapes of BaTiO3 nanofillers on PEO-based electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries
, Xiaohui Wang
, Wei Feng
, Yichao Zhen
, Peiyao Zhao
, Ziming Cai
& Longtu Li
Ionics (2019)
Ultrathin, flexible, solid polymer composite electrolyte enabled with aligned nanoporous host for lithium batteries
Jiayu Wan
, Jin Xie
, Xian Kong
, Zhe Liu
, Kai Liu
, Feifei Shi
, Allen Pei
, Hao Chen
, Wei Chen
, Jun Chen
, Xiaokun Zhang
, Linqi Zong
, Jiangyan Wang
, Long-Qing Chen
, Jian Qin
& Yi Cui
Nature Nanotechnology (2019)
Figure 1: Conductivity of PEO6:(LiAsF6)1-x(LiTFSI)x.
Figure 2: X-ray powder diffraction patterns of PEO6:(LiAsF6)1-x(LiTFSI)x.
Figure 3: DSC of PEO6:(LiAsF6)1-x(LiTFSI)x.
Figure 4: Fragment of the crystal structure of PEO6:(LiAsF6)1-x(LiTFSI)x.


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Pine Ridge at Crestwood és una concentració de població designada pel cens dels Estats Units a l'estat de Nova Jersey. Segons el cens del 2000 tenia una població de 2.025 habitants.

Demografia
Segons el cens del 2000, Pine Ridge at Crestwood tenia 2.025 habitants, 1.367 habitatges, i 567 famílies. La densitat de població era de 457,2 habitants/km².

Dels 1.367 habitatges en un 0% hi vivien nens de menys de 18 anys, en un 34,8% hi vivien parelles casades, en un 5,6% dones solteres, i en un 58,5% no eren unitats familiars. En el 55,4% dels habitatges hi vivien persones soles el 48,3% de les quals corresponia a persones de 65 anys o més que vivien soles. El nombre mitjà de persones vivint en cada habitatge era d'1,48 i el nombre mitjà de persones que vivien en cada família era de 2,07.

Per edats la població es repartia de la següent manera: un 0,2% tenia menys de 18 anys, un 0,4% entre 18 i 24, un 2,2% entre 25 i 44, un 17,7% de 45 a 60 i un 79,5% 65 anys o més.

L'edat mediana era de 75 anys. Per cada 100 dones de 18 o més anys hi havia 62,3 homes.

La renda mediana per habitatge era de 22.019 $ i la renda mediana per família de 27.750 $. Els homes tenien una renda mediana de 16.094 $ mentre que les dones 31.071 $. La renda per capita de la població era de 20.320 $. Aproximadament el 5,7% de les famílies i el 5,7% de la població estaven per davall del llindar de pobresa.

Poblacions més properes
El següent diagrama mostra les poblacions més properes.

Referències

Entitats de població de Nova Jersey

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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- 5 reasons why West African & South African Music is receiving more play
African, Kenyan Music, Music, Music Video
5 reasons why West African & South African Music is receiving more play
Njeri Wangari on September 5, 2014
SA duo Mafikizolo featuring Nigerian May D in the song Happiness
The discussion and speculation as to why every club in Nairobi, Kenya and other countries not just in Africa is playing West African high life and South African , sounds that are now being defined as AfroBeat has been going on for a very long time.
Numerous articles on this subject have been written including some of the reasons why Nigerian Music is soaring with artists such as Davido P-Square and Wizkid among others collaborating with international artists, and the reason why Kenyan, and to an extent, East African Music is not reaching such heights.
We list and closely scrutinise some of the reasons why every club, radio station and TV music show is playing songs like "Skelewu", "Y-kjukutja" and "Khona" among others at the expense of our 'Kapuka' and 'ngenge".
Listen. http://t.co/et2tnAeVCZ When I hear this. This is a global hit by a South African band not a South African hit. There's a formula.
— Comrade Mbasu (@ItsBuddhaBlaze) June 9, 2014
1. Paying homage to the Pioneers
Very few Kenyan artists understand or apply the phrase "Standing on the shoulders of giants" something which South African and Nigerian artists have executed to such fine detail that we place them on the same pedestal as their mentors.
The one thing that is common about music coming from West Africa is that it is heavily influenced by the 70s Afrobeat, a sound that was created and defined by the legendary Fela Anikulapo Kuti. The new generation of West African artists have not invented any new beat. Instead, they picked the Afrobeat, fused it with sounds of hip hop, dancehall to come up with a beat that is still rich yet trendy renaming it – Afrobeats.
The only effort made to fuse Kenyan older music with new beats is from JB Maina & Wyre's sampling of 'Tiga Kumute' and Just a Band's sampling of 'Dunia ina Mambo' by The Mighty Cavaliers, a song that was produced in 1976.
In a recent discussion with well known Kenyan Music producer Bruce Odhiambo on the Capital FM Jazz show, Bruce re-iterated this sentiment of the current generation of Kenyan musicians failing to appreciate or even learn from Kenyan Music Pioneers such as Hodi Boys, The Might Cavaliers, The African Heritage band and many others. Bruce opined that the gap and lack of conversation between the older and new generation of artists in Kenya is what is ailing our music which lacks authenticity or a defined Kenyan Sound.
Perhaps the best example to how a young artists owes his success to a music great is the song 'Jaiye Jaiye' in which WizKid collaborated with Fela Kuti's son- Femi to pay homage to the king of AfroBeat.
2. Cultural Influences & Authenticity
Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa were all colonized by the British and in SA's case, by the Dutch soon after, just like Kenya and most African countries. Despite this, alot of West African and Southern African countries were still able to hold on to most of their cultural traditions during and after colonisation. This can be seen in their language (Xhosa, Zulu, pidgin, woloof, Yoruba etc) which is used in their daily lives and is incorporated in their music, their mode of dressing as well their reverence to their ancestors and most of their traditional African beliefs (A good illustration of this is in the lyrics to the hit song Khona by the South African duo of Mafikizolo and Uhuru)
Nigerians love their Agbadas, the Ghanaians their Kente and the South African's have the Geometric shape patterns and colorful costume designs.
Why this is important is because every artist is competing with billions of others on every level from their lyrics to their sound and in this YouTube age, their music video.
The music package that an artist gives has to be complete and authentic. The music makers in S.A & West Africa just tapped into the elements that are in their every day lives, the cultural influences blending African Languages with traditional and modern beats in a way that makes them stand out and have a distinct sound.
3. Language & Music Style
I was reading somewhere that Nigerian singer Flavor of the hit song Nwa Baby (Sawale) always thought Kenyan artist Nameless was Jamaican. I am not surprised. I have often confused Redsan's music as well as Wyre's to some Jamaican hits because the language in their lyrics and music style is not Kenyan.
Most Jamaican singers user Patois – a pidgin language just like Nigerians. Most of us have been dancing to 'Skelewu' and Zahara's Lengoma remix with no idea nor caring what the lyrics say.
South African musicians have proved time and again that African Languages have the depth African artists can reach into for very soulful rich music. They carry their language with such pride in their music, its enviable and its finally paying off.
Older Music Styles such as Afro Beat, Makossa, Kwassa Kwassa and the contemporary ones such as AfroBeats, Azonto and Kwaito, are pre-dominantly African Music Styles that are defined by various African Artists. These styles are defined by fusing traditional African beats with various elements such as the Congolese rumba, hip hop and dance hall to form a new music style as the case has been with Afrobeats.
4. Industry Support & Collaborations
It is perhaps only the SA music industry as well as Arts in general that receive a lot of government support. However, despite lack of government support for Nigerians, they have still been able to beat the odds of frequent power outages, fuel shortage, political instabilities (Boko Haram) as well as other civil unrests to become one of Africa's biggest entertainers not just in music but in Film as well. The numbers do help too.
Nigerian Producers like Don Jazzy, D-Tunes, Maleek Berry, Legendury Beats are responsible for some of the biggest hits from artists such as Tiwa Savage, Flavor, P-Square, Davido to name but a few.
Collaborations have also been a huge contributing factor to cross market appeal and enabling African Artists reach beyond Africa. P-Square's collabo with Akon, Rick Ross and lately with T.I as well as Davido's collaboration with Mafikizolo just to mention a few, have had such a powerful effect in spreading the music from one artist's existing fan base to a new one that there are clubs in various part of Europe and the US grooving to these infectious beats.
5. International Focus
Artists should never have a myopic view of who they are producing their music for. In this internet age, your song has the potential of being listened to (or watched ) somewhere in Alaska and not just in your home town or country.
Nigerians and South African's realized this a while back and learned which ingredients to use (the ones detailed in this article ) to make their music and videos stand out globally.
The bad blood between Kenyan Artists and DJs because they are not being patriotic should not be there at all. Its very simple, make good music and the rest will follow. Afrobeats might be a passing cloud, maybe its time our artists took Fadhili William's endless hit and gave it new life that the young generation can groove to in clubs or nod their heads to on Matatu FMs.
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Paola's art was chosen along with other artists selected for 9' x 18' murals to be displayed along Biscayne Blvd. Planned as a one-month public space intervention, Biscayne Green will create new active public space for the enjoyment of Downtown Miami residents and visitors. The various spaces proposed for this project include fun and interactive elements that will allow for people to gather and connect.
Located in Downtown Miami along Biscayne Boulevard on three of the medians in front of Bayfront Park between SE 2nd Street and NE 1st Street, by the Bayfront Park Metromover station. On view till end of spring.


The beach-themed casual restaurant formally known as Rockin' Baja Lobster has reinvented itself with an updated menu, catchy slogan, revamped Web site, growth plans and new name: Rockin' Baja Coastal Cantina.
Inviting customers to "Eat, Drink and Be Baja!" the six-unit chain based in San Diego also announced its plans for 44 new franchise locations, starting with five openings this year.
"To stay ahead of the changing economy, we needed to be proactive and find ways to market the brand that will result in an increase of customers and interested franchisers," said founder Rick DiRienzo in a press release.
DiRienzo said "lobster" was omitted from the title to highlight the restaurant's comprehensive menu. The restaurant's signature Baja Buckets come full of chicken, beef, pork or seafood. New additions to the menu include "Outrageous Tacos" and a completely overhauled fresh salsa bar with warm corn tortilla chips.
Rockin' Baja's new franchises will establish the chain in areas like Montclair, Palm Beach Desert and Los Angeles, Calif.; Austin, Texas; and Biloxi, Miss.
Inspired by the flavors and the coastal tranquility of the small fishing village of Puerto Nuevo, DiRienzo launched the restaurant in San Diego in 1983. For an in-depth profile of Rockin' Baja, see the In the Kitchen feature in the May issue of SeaFood Business.


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Leon County's 18th Annual Volunteer Firefighter Fire Truck Roundup
October 11, 2015 6:02 pm by Toriann Lumsden
Kids enjoying the fire truck.
Leon County hosted its 18th Annual Fire Truck Roundup Saturday from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Growing Room to honor Leon County's volunteer firefighters.
The annual event highlighted "the service and dedication of the men and women who protect life and property of Leon County's citizens."
This event offered the community music, free hot dogs and drinks, face painting and giveaways.
Children were also able to explore fire truck equipment, and get an up-close look at all the bells and whistles inside the big red engine.
Chief of the Bradfordville Volunteer Fire Department, Sean Ruane, was presented with a trophy from the Earl Bacon Insurance Agency.
Ruane, was the winner of the Jack Harron Leon County Volunteer Firefighter of the Year award, and accepted the award humbly, explaining that volunteer firefighter are first-responders to people in need.
"I wasn't expecting the award today," Ruane said. "Being a volunteer in Leon County means you get really high level training. You learn a lot of skills that are important to life saving and basic first response E.M.S. preparation."
Ruane, a Florida State University alumnus, and has been volunteering as a firefighter for 10 years, starting in South Georgia were the local fire department was short staffed.
Ruane advocated for more Tallahassee residents to become a volunteer because of the immense opportunities for improvement in leadership skills and teamwork abilities with people from diverse backgrounds.
Chief Director of Volunteer Services, Jeri Bush, who has been with the Bradfordville Volunteer Fire Department for 22 years, said that becoming a volunteer takes certification and lots of training.
"They are as trained as paid firefighters," Bush said.
Bush spoke highly of Chief Ruane during an interview expressing her pride in the job that he is doing.
"It is not an easy job being a volunteer firefighter, and Ruane is doing a wonderful job of running everything smoothly," Bush said.
Amy Liem, a local Leon County resident, said that it was her first time attending the annual event with her toddler, Charlie. She said that they enjoyed the festivities, and they learned a little more about volunteer firefighter work.
"We learned how hard they work, and how brave they are," Liem said.
The award that Chief Ruane won was renamed after the former Miccosukee Fire Chief who lost his battle with cancer.


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Botafogo announces the sale of striker Jeffinho to Lyon, France; check the negotiation values
All Disney Movies Part 3: The Silver Age
Police dog that ate his companion's lunch is registered: it is "under investigation" (lol)
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Julia Roberts and Jennifer Aniston will swap bodies in comedy
Nubank customers are thrilled with the novelty of the roxinho
Santos negotiates Lucas Lima's return to the club on a productivity contract; see the details
Princess Power Voice Cast: What are the characters like in real life?
Home/Sports/″He never says positive things″
″He never says positive things″
Photography: AFP
After the Netherlands' draw with Ecuador (1-1), the Dutch legend criticized the centre-back's approach to Enner Valencia's goal and accused him of being a bad team captain.
The Netherlands, current joint leaders of Group A of the 2022 Mundial, drew 1-1 on Friday with Ecuador, who have the same four points, in the second round of the tournament.
World Cup 2022. "Portuguese fans treat Ronaldo like a king. Brazilians root for Neymar to break his leg"
World Cup 2022. "Germany? People have created drama, but I see it differently"
After the match, Marco van Basten criticized the approach of Virgil van Dijk, Dutch centre-back, in Enner Valencia's goal. "He's just waiting and looking at him… Where are you looking? He needs to be on top of him! He just let him kick!", he told the NOS newspaper, also accusing him of being a bad captain.
Now, the Liverpool centre-back also made statements to the media after the final whistle and, when asked about the former striker's criticism, van Dijk downplayed it.
Read too
"He never says positive things. What do you want me to do? It's easy to talk from the studio. Am I failing as a captain? What do you want me to do with that information? I'm always direct and lead the team in the best way possible", he assured.
The Netherlands ends their participation in the group stage of the 2022 Mundial against Qatar (Tuesday, at 3:00 pm), already mathematically removed from the round of 16. At the same time, Ecuador will face Senegal, who are forced to win to ensure passage to the next stage.
Tags OJ The game World Cup 2022
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uncontested divorce nj irreconcilable differences you can make this drink with the particular saving your marriage before it starts workbook online many fresh fruits, a liquid and also a blender.... 25/01/2017�� Crime Patrol - ?????? ??????? ????? - Irreconcilable Differences - Episode 448 - 20th December 2014 - Duration: 43:40.
�Irreconcilable differences�. We hear it time and time again. Whether it�s celebs, your friends, colleagues or your sister�s husband�s friend�s cousin, they all divorce due to �irreconcilable differences�.


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Q: phpMyAdmin apparently ignoring POST data, no error I am running MAMP on my OSX dev environment, and it recently notified me that it could auto-update phpMyAdmin to version 4.6.5.2. I did so, and all seemed to be well, I was able to browse my databases as before.
Soon I learned that some things weren't working. When I take actions that use a GET request, such as clicking the Browse tab on a database, it works. When I do anything requiring POST, such as a Search, or an SQL query, it ignores the request and reloads the page, no error message appears on-screen.
No errors or warnings appear in my MySQL, Apache, or PHP  log files. The problem occurs on all databases, and it's only affecting phpMyAdmin--other locally hosted sites accept POST requests as normal. I am able to read and write to the databases though other channels (e.g., command line, PHP scripts, etc).
Has anyone else encountered this?
Does anyone have an idea what might be causing it?
I'm currently trying to roll back the version, but I need to figure out how.

A: I have encountered the same. It looks like I have resolved the problem by clearing cookies. Also switching between different auth_type(http, cookie, config) modes in config.inc.php could help.


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Girl, five, is raped and then stoned to death by attackers who feared she would tell police in latest horrifying sex attack in India
The girl went missing on Thursday from a small village in India's Odisha state
Her body was found on Friday in woodland nearby the village by searching locals
The girl's family have alleged that she was raped and then stoned to death
An investigation into the case has been launched by local police officials
By Chris Jewers For Mailonline
A five-year-old Indian girl was allegedly raped and then stoned to death by her attackers who feared she would tell the police.
The latest horrifying sex attack in the country is reported to have happened in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, police said on Friday.
Her death comes amid growing anger in the country where sexual violence against woman is common, with an average of 90 rapes being reported daily in 2019.
Pictured: Protesters in New Delhi on October 4 demand action following the gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman. In the latest horrifying sex attack in the country, a five-year-old girl was allegedly raped and stoned to death by her attackers, afraid she would tell police
The young girl went missing on Thursday from the small village of Kharkhari in the Dhenkanal district.
Her body was recovered from a nearby forest by searching locals on Friday.
Her family have alleged that she was raped and then stoned to death by her attackers, whose identities are yet to be reported.
A police officer from the region - Suprasanna Mallick - said that a case has been opened into the girl's death based on the family's First Information Report (FIR), and that an investigation is on-going.
Sex abuse victim, 11, dies days after giving birth... Female patient 'is raped while semi-conscious in Indian... Girl, six, dies after being raped in India: Parents lay... Homeless man 'who smashed his way into a sleeping teenage...
India is one of the world's most dangerous places for women, with a rape occurring on average every 15 minutes based on federal data.
In early October, a six-year-old rape victim has died in hospital ten days after being attacked, sparking furious protests in India which saw her family lay the girl's body in the street.
The girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by her cousin while she was at home in India's northern Uttar Pradesh state.
She was being treated at a hospital in Delhi but succumbed to her injuries on October 6.
Her death followed widespread demonstrations over the death of a 19-year-old woman following an alleged gang-rape in September.
Protests were held across India following the alleged gang-rape of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in September. India is one of the world's most dangerous places for women, with a rape occurring on average every 15 minutes based on federal data
In December 2012, the gang-rape of a 23-year-old woman sparked nationwide outrage and led to a tough new anti-rape law.
An average of nearly 90 rapes were reported in India every day last year, according to data by the National Crime Records Bureau, but large numbers are thought to go unreported.
India's 200 million low-caste Dalits have long faced discrimination, and campaigners say attacks have increased during the coronavirus pandemic.
Girl, five, is raped and then stoned to death by attackers who feared she would tell police


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Joseph Anderson ist der Name folgender Personen:

* Joseph Anderson (1757–1837), US-amerikanischer Politiker
 Joseph Anderson (Prähistoriker) (1832–1916), schottischer Prähistoriker und Kurator
 Joseph Gaudentius Anderson (1865–1927), US-amerikanischer Geistlicher, Weihbischof in Boston
 Joseph H. Anderson (1800–1870), US-amerikanischer Politiker
 Joseph Reid Anderson (1813–1892), amerikanischer Ingenieur und Brigadegeneral


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Q: How to deploy grpc-web on aws? I have a backend service that I want to expose via grpc-web.
I'm able to use the service directly via the public IP of the ec2 instance. But when I try to access it via the invocation URL of API Gateway I get a CORS error.
I want to add JWT authentication that's why I want to expose the API via API-Gateway.
Here is my configuration:
Envoy.yml

admin:
  access_log_path: /tmp/admin_access.log
  address:
    socket_address: { address: 0.0.0.0, port_value: 9901 }

static_resources:
  listeners:
    - name: listener_sim
      address:
        socket_address: { address: 0.0.0.0, port_value: 8080 }
      filter_chains:
        - filters:
          - name: envoy.filters.network.http_connection_manager
            typed_config:
              "@type": type.googleapis.com/envoy.extensions.filters.network.http_connection_manager.v3.HttpConnectionManager
              codec_type: auto
              stat_prefix: ingress_http
              route_config:
                name: local_route
                virtual_hosts:
                  - name: local_service
                    domains: ["*"]
                    routes:
                      - match: { prefix: "/" }
                        route:
                          cluster: rtdxc_service
                          timeout: 0s
                          max_stream_duration:
                            grpc_timeout_header_max: 0s
                    cors:
                      allow_origin_string_match:
                        - prefix: "*"
                      allow_methods: GET, PUT, DELETE, POST, OPTIONS
                      allow_headers: keep-alive,user-agent,cache-control,content-type,content-transfer-encoding,custom-header-1,x-accept-content-transfer-encoding,x-accept-response-streaming,x-user-agent,x-grpc-web,grpc-timeout
                      max_age: "1728000"
                      expose_headers: grpc-status,grpc-message
              http_filters:
                - name: envoy.filters.http.grpc_web
                  typed_config:
                    "@type": type.googleapis.com/envoy.extensions.filters.http.grpc_web.v3.GrpcWeb
                - name: envoy.filters.http.cors
                  typed_config:
                    "@type": type.googleapis.com/envoy.extensions.filters.http.cors.v3.Cors
                - name: envoy.filters.http.router
                  typed_config:
                    "@type": type.googleapis.com/envoy.extensions.filters.http.router.v3.Router
  clusters:
    - name: grpc_server
      connect_timeout: 0.25s
      type: logical_dns
      http2_protocol_options: {}
      lb_policy: round_robin
      load_assignment:
        cluster_name: rtdxc_0
        endpoints:
          - lb_endpoints:
            - endpoint:
                address:
                  socket_address:
                    address: grpc_server
                    port_value: 8081

Here is my docker-compose.yml
version: '3.8'

services:

  grpc_server:
    image: XXXXXX
    user: ${UID}:${GID}
    ports:
      - 8081:8081
    tty: true

  proxy:
    ports:
        - 9091:9091
        - 8080:8080
    image: envoyproxy/envoy:v1.22.0
    volumes:
        - ./envoy/envoy.yml:/etc/envoy/envoy.yaml:ro
    tty:
      true

I have mapped API gateway with the following configuration:
ANY / mappes to the public domain of the ec2 instance on port 8080
If I add CORS configuration in the API Gateway , The OPTION request returns 204 with propper cors headers, but POST request does not return proper headers. If I disable CORS configuration in the API gateway, the OPTIONS request also fails due to CORS issue.


Don sent along the following update on the BeachBikes.net giveaway . . .
Bike is purchased! We named it "Teal Scorpion" after a long time inside joke with the family. We think it looks great and are very excited. We ordered through the custom bike process but it is mostly using the default settings for the 3 Speed Beach Cruiser.
Purchasing process was pretty straight forward. Took a minute or two once we decides on frame/gears. Not every color combination is available in every frame style, so we adapted to find the right combination of frame and color. I'm more of a gear head compared to my wife, so if I was buying this for myself, I would have wanted more options to choose components, rims, tires, etc. My wife was more into the 'look'. Overall, very pleased with the process.
Don receives a $350 coupon to the site, where he will be able to order a brand new customized bike and get it shipped straight to his door. As he takes the bike through its paces, he will post entries to BikeHacks.com.
Also, stayed tuned to find out what path I followed with the accessory I was admiring on what I labeled a bike that was not being cared for.
It seems like every bike accessory made comes with a beer bottle opener, however if you prefer wine to beer and don't have a wine opener handy, you can use a pump and inflation needle to get the cork out. The dude is this video is very passionate about science.
Good news y'all , we have something to give away and we will once again be using our Haiku contest format to determine the recipient. Drum roll please . . . we are partnering up with BeachBikes.net to give away a Customized California-Style Beach Cruiser.
That's right, you read it right and clear. Beachbikes.net is sponsoring a giveaway contest where YOU can be the winner of a brand new, completely personal 100% customized beach cruiser bike. BeachBikes.net is a company based out of Santa Monica, California, that specializes in custom-made beach cruiser bikes.
Design your bike exactly the way you want it; choosing everything from the frame (Men's or Women's), to the speeds (1, 3 or 7), fenders, rims, seat, and even adding custom decals, among other options! With the customizer, the possibilities become endless. The winner of the contest will receive a $350 coupon to the site, where you'll be able to order your brand new bike and get it shipped straight to your door (as long as that door has a U.S. address). Here are a few sample pictures from their website . . .
Ask yourself if you live in the U.S. If the answer is "yes", your entry or entries will be entered into the contest for the bike. If international readers want to submit Haiku for fun we welcome it, but the winner of the contest will have to reside in the U.S. I might try to come up with some sort of other prize if readers residing in other countries still want to participate.
The Haiku should be inspired by the usage of a beach bike and/or uses of the bike (for example, like cruising man). "Beach bike" does not need to appear in the Haiku, but we would like the Haiku to relate to usage of the bike and/or play on the theme. A title can be used but is not necessary.
Submit as many as you like and yes we need your email address in the appropriate comment field too so we can contact you if you win. If you want inspiration for submitting multiple entries, please watch the totally tubular movie Real Genius - why this movie did not win an Academy Award is beyond me.
The deadline to submit is Friday, March 4, 2016.
The winner will be chosen by random number selection and will be announced in early March 2016.
The winner must post their review of the bike to BikeHacks.com after putting the bike through the paces.
Living near a beach is not a requirement to enter this contest.
One more reason to go by bike. Parking, or should I say "Pahking" outside of Fenway Park.
Really? Saw this on the side of the bike path. You change your tube and it's just too much to take it with you. Must have been a Fred worried about the extra weight.
Seen on the door of Birdbath Neighborhood Bakery NYC.
I know that many BikeHacks readers enjoy beer, and to me a ride makes a beer taste a whole lot better. Recently I had the opportunity to try a new beer that was fabulous. Wookey Jack by Firestone Walker Brewery is a Black Rye IPA I'll be puchasing again. It is 8.3 % so it does pack a little punch, but it is a nice hearty beer for a post fall/winter ride. If readers have beer recommendations, feel free to post comments.


4 Bedroom Colonial in desirable North Stamford location. Home boasts updated gourmet eat-in kitchen with granite island and high end stainless steel appliances. Custom built butler pantry. Kitchen opens to private fenced in backyard with restored patio that surrounds swimming pool and newer hot tub / Jacuzzi. Home integrated with smart home features including cameras, thermostats, garage opener, smoke alarm and lights. First floor has living room, dining room and family room with hardwood floor. Wood burning fireplace in living room. Second level with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms all with hardwood floor. Updated porcelain tile bathrooms. Full list of recent updates below. Must See!


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La Mesa Shop Owner Arrested
Man Sentenced for Murder of Man Found Stuffed in Barrel on San Diego Bay
"Mr. Cook, I forgive you and it's a decision I make every day when I wake up"
By Christina Bravo	• Published January 6, 2020 • Updated at 10:56 pm on January 6, 2020
NBC 7
More than two years after a man's decomposed body was found floating inside a barrel on the San Diego Bay, the man convicted of killing him was sentenced for second-degree murder.
Timothy John Cook, 52, was sentenced to 56 years to life in prison for the death of 28-year-old Omar Medina, whose body was found with dozens of stab wounds and stuffed inside a 55-gallon drum floating just off the Chula Vista marina on Oct. 12, 2017.
Cook will not be able to be released on probation and was ordered to pay back restitution to Medina's family, who was at the sentencing ready to forgive the man responsible for their loved one's death.
"I pray that you find healing, restoration. I honestly do, Mr. Cook," Medina's sister, Alicia Villegas said. "It doesn't make me feel good that you're going to prison. I want my brother back. Mr. Cook, I forgive you and it's a decision I make every day when I wake up."
Cook was one of two men charged in connection with Medina's death. He and his co-defendant, Derrick Jefferson Spurgeon, were arrested in December 2017, months after a diver spotted a suspicious plastic barrel with a hazard tag and a wireline attached to it in the water and reported it to authorities.
The barrel appeared to be tied down with cement blocks. Police believe a metal chain may have also weighed it down before it broke loose and surfaced at the marina.
When police pulled the barrel to the shore and opened it, the found a body inside, so badly decomposed that it took the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office about six weeks to identify.
Cook was one of two men charged in connection with Medina's death. The jury could not reach a decision on the accessory to murder charge against Spurgeon, who pleaded not guilty.
Medina was stabbed 66 times. The medical examiner's report documented stab wounds to Medina's nose, mouth, jaw, scalp and neck as well as his wrists, hands and fingers. There were so many wounds, investigators described them as a cluster.
According to the autopsy report, Medina was able to be identified in part by fingerprints and the tattoo of a five-pointed star on his left ankle.
San DiegoCalifornia