text:
City School District's ROC City Players premiere first musical since pandemic began
WXXI News | By Noelle E. C. Evans
RCSD
ROC City Players perform Disney's "High School Musical" this weekend.
At East High School on Main Street, about 45 students from different schools around the district have banded together to create their version of Disney's "High School Musical."
For the first time since the pandemic began, the Rochester City School District's ROC City Players are putting on a play.
Some are in elementary school, others in high school. Some are on stage, others behind the scenes. There is a place for everyone in theater, said Dominic Pickard, the district's director of arts.
"You're gaining the self-confidence and self-awareness that 'It's OK to be who I am,' and also in a sense join this magical world where 'I can be someone or something else as well,'" Pickard said.
In the past two years, students have endured bouts of isolation in quarantine and remote learning. Extracurricular activities like theater give students a chance to find joy and a sense of togetherness, said Deputy Superintendent Kathleen Black.
"While reading is important and doing math is important, kids are kids," Black said, "and we've got to tap into the other things that are equally important to making them well-rounded little people or big people."
In a 2018 study about social-emotional learning through drama, Turkish professor Hakan Usakli concluded that "Drama gives children opportunities to explore, discuss and deal with difficult issues and to express their emotions in a supportive environment. … It encourages them to think and act creatively, developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills that can be applied in all areas of learning."
District musical director Taylor Johnson, who also teaches music at John James Audubon School 33, said seeing students help each other throughout the process has been rewarding, but putting on a play amid COVID-19 has been anything but easy.
"This is definitely the most challenging show we've had to do because kids are out for two weeks if they're exposed and have to be home, so the fact that they were able to get this together is just incredible to me," Johnson said.
Students from fourth through 12th grades will perform wearing clear masks, and audience members will be socially distanced. The curtain rises at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Noelle E. C. Evans
Noelle E. C. Evans is an education reporter/producer with a background in documentary filmmaking and education.
See stories by Noelle E. C. Evans

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


GBK Damper products are used in many industries to provide smooth closure of panels and doors. Each product has been specifically designed for a particular type of application. If you are unable to identify the exact style of Damper you require please contact us to discuss the project needs. We can engineer the solution!


text:
End of year message from John O'Sullivan
End Of Year Message From John O'Sullivan
It's amazing to think we are almost at the end of 2016, and what a busy year it's been. Congratulations to all of you on a fantastic 12 months, the industry has had a great year.
In 2016 Australia welcomed more than eight million international visitors, only 18 months after passing the seven million milestone. To give you a sense of how fast we're now growing, it took more than six years for visitor numbers to climb from five to six million. Importantly, Tourism Research Australia now forecasts annual visitor expenditure to reach $127 billion by 2020, exceeding the lower end of our Tourism 2020 target. So whilst global tourism is increasingly competitive and we must never become complacent, it's a great time to be part of the industry in Australia.
International airline seats Down Under are growing and it is of particular significance that Ministers Ciobo and Chester recently announced an open skies aviation agreement with China, further opening up the opportunity from our most valuable inbound market. Accommodation is also growing with some 120 hotel projects currently in the pipeline.
Tourism Australia is doing everything it can to attract more high-yielding visitors to our shores. Our global positioning 'There's Nothing Like Australia' continues to resonate well across our key markets. The latest chapter, a push on Australia's world-class aquatic and coastal experiences, was launched in January 2016 by our ambassador Chris Hemsworth. The campaign contains the largest and most dynamic range of assets we've ever created, including 360 degree videos and virtual reality. As a result of the campaign we've had a phenomenal 10.5 million views of the 360 degree videos on Facebook, a nine per cent increase in visitation to Australia.com and a 104 per cent increase in leads to the Australia tourism industry.
Restaurant Australia also continues to thrive. Since we launched the campaign in May 2014, spending on food and wine by international visitors has grown by more than $1 billion, so much so that we surpassed our original spending target six months ahead of schedule. In 2017 watch out for the 'Oscars of Food' – The World's 50 Best Restaurants awards in April in Melbourne. We'll be bringing influential foodies from around the world and taking them to all States and Territories in Australia to sample the best of our culinary offerings.
This year we have worked with over 200 partners, contributing an additional $65 million to our annual marketing budget. I'm really pleased that in August we re-established a formal partnership with Qantas as well as extending and deepening a number of other airline partnerships including Air New Zealand and China Southern. Our relationship with Virgin Australia continues to go from strength to strength.
In market we now work closely with over 150 key distribution partners on joint marketing activities, each of whom shares a commitment to training their frontline sales team through the Aussie Specialist Program (ASP). The ASP is a critical component in our global distribution strategy and was recently relaunched with trainers around the world and new online training modules. Our partnership with all States and Territories on the ASP is also a great example of one voice in action. Through a new three year agreement with each State tourism organisation, Australia is represented by the same group of trainers in market as opposed to multiple. It's been a great success with a 35 per cent increase in the number of qualified agents and training sessions held for over 34,000 agents since launch.
We are also working with outstanding creative marketing partners and in September confirmed the appointment of Universal McCann (UM) to handle our global media planning and buying requirements. UM is Australia's highest ranked and most awarded media agency and will help us reach customers through technology and data in more targeted and efficient ways than previously possible.
In 2017 our focus will continue to be on markets that offer the best prospects to achieve our Tourism 2020 targets, while maintaining a balanced portfolio across both Eastern and Western markets. China, Japan, South Korea and the US offer our strongest prospects for growth. However they will be ably supported by Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, India and New Zealand. With a looming Ashes Series in 2017/18 we will also see a boost from the UK and the markets of Germany, France and Italy remain critical in our quest for high spending and dispersing consumers.
In 2017 we also celebrate the 'China-Australia Year of Tourism'. It's a great opportunity for the industry to leverage new policy settings introduced by Government this year - such as open skies and the new 10 year multiple entry visitor visa. But importantly it's also about furthering our relationship with China. During the year we will conduct targeted marketing campaigns, distribution activities as well as host a number of industry trade missions to China. It all kicks off on 5 February.
In September this year we received an additional $10 million in Government funding for a global youth advertising campaign as part of a range of Government initiatives targeting working holiday makers. The youth market is critical for Australia because it contributes 25 per cent of all visitor arrivals and 44 per cent of all visitor spend. Initially campaign activity is aimed at potential working holiday makers in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and the Nordics. In 2017 this will expand into a broader youth campaign that will roll out in all of our international markets.
For business events we're particularly focused on attracting association events to Australia. This is an area of the visitor economy that offers significant potential and Australia has recently had some big wins: Queensland's Gold Coast will host 8,000 top performers from Infinitus China for a week-long incentive program in May 2018; and more than 3,000 aviation decision makers from around the world will gather in South Australia in 2019 for Routes Asia, the world's largest aviation trade event. Just two examples of how Australia is attracting world class incentives and conferences.
Trade events are a great way for industry to get in front of potential buyers and we're very active in that space. Next year will start off in America with our Australia Marketplace and the US Summit in February. The Australian Tourism Exchange will return to Sydney in May at the brand new ICC Sydney in Darling Harbour – a fantastic new piece of infrastructure for our country's business events. We'll hold our first Corroboree West on the Gold Coast in October with agents from both Europe and the Americas, and Dreamtime will also return in 2017.
I'm very proud of the team we have here at Tourism Australia, aligned to our purpose to make Australia the world's most desirable and memorable destination on the planet. I'm really excited that in February we'll be joined by Pip Harrison to lead our international division that includes very strong teams in market.
Our sincere thanks go to The Hon. Steven Ciobo MP, the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment and the Tourism Australia Board chaired by Tony South for their continued support of the organisation.
But most importantly a big thanks to all of you for contributing to the success of Australian tourism.
Season's greetings and I wish you all a prosperous New Year.
John O'Sullivan, Managing Director, Tourism Australia.


 NIOSHTIC-2 Publications Search - 20037428 - Work-relatedness of selected chronic medical conditions and workers' compensation utilization: National Health Interview Survey occupational health supplement data.
Work-relatedness of selected chronic medical conditions and workers' compensation utilization: National Health Interview Survey occupational health supplement data.
Background: An occupational health supplement (OHS) to the 1988 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) bypassed many limitations of traditional occupational health surveillance systems, but the data collected about chronic work-related conditions have not yet been reported. Methods: We calculated the prevalence and proportion of cases related to work for the aggregation of 13 chronic conditions included in the NHIS-OHS, and for 11 conditions individually. For each of nine conditions, and for the aggregation of all conditions, we also calculated the prevalence of workers' compensation claims filed. Results: The overall prevalence of work-related chronic conditions was 7.5% (SE = 0.16). The work-related conditions with the highest prevalence were repeated trouble with the back/neck/spine (4.91%; SE = 0.13) and trouble hearing (1.14%; SE = 0.06). Overall, workers' compensation claims were filed for 39.0% (SE = 1.00) of work-related cases. Conclusions: The burden of work-related illnesses in the US is substantial, and the workers' compensation system is underutilized.


text:
Q: Developing an Android Library from an Android application activity I've a camera activity which OCRs images and returns the result as an intent to the activity which called it.
Now, I'd like to make it a library so that it can be called with a simple, say Scanner.readText() command. I want the camera activity to open, scan image, return the OCR result and get back to original activity all with a simple Scanner.readText() command.
How do I approach this? How should my SDK interface look like? How do I implement the callbacks?
A gist of my code
@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.activity_camera);

    rl = (RelativeLayout) findViewById(R.id.rel_camera);
    iv = (ImageView) findViewById(R.id.black_above);

    tessOCR = new TessOCR(getApplicationContext());

}

@Override
protected void onStart() {
    super.onStart();
    // Create an instance of Camera
    mCamera = getCameraInstance();

    mPreview = new CameraPreview(this, mCamera);
    preview = (FrameLayout) findViewById(R.id.camera_preview);
    preview.addView(mPreview);

    rl.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
        @Override
        public void onClick(View v) {
            mCamera.takePicture(null, null, mPicture);
        }
    });

}

@Override
protected void onDestroy() {
    super.onDestroy();
    tessOCR.onDestroy();
}

private class MRZ_OCR extends AsyncTask<Void, Void, String>

{
    private byte[] data;
    private String result;

    public MRZ_OCR(byte[] data) {
        this.data = data;
    }

    @Override
    protected void onPreExecute() {
        super.onPreExecute();
        CameraActivity.this.pd = ProgressDialog.show(CameraActivity.this, null, "Doing OCR");
    }

    @Override
    protected String doInBackground(Void... params) {

        // Crop to get only MRZ
        Bitmap bm = BitmapFactory.decodeByteArray(data, 0, data.length);
        bm = Bitmap.createBitmap(bm, 0, pxFromDp(CameraActivity.this, 120), viewWidth, viewHeight);

        //  Verify if it has MRZ
        //  bm = MRZ.getMRZ(bm);

        if (bm != null) {

            ByteArrayOutputStream stream = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
            bm.compress(Bitmap.CompressFormat.PNG, 100, stream);
            byte[] byteArray = stream.toByteArray();
            createImageFile(byteArray);
        }

        //binarize the image

        for (int i = 0; i < bm.getWidth(); i++) {
            for (int c = 0; c < bm.getHeight(); c++) {
                int pixel = bm.getPixel(i, c);
                if (shouldBeBlack(pixel))
                    bm.setPixel(i, c, Color.BLACK);
                else
                    bm.setPixel(i, c, Color.WHITE);
            }
        }

        //create image file
        if (bm != null) {

            ByteArrayOutputStream stream = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
            bm.compress(Bitmap.CompressFormat.PNG, 100, stream);
            byte[] byteArray = stream.toByteArray();
            createImageFile(byteArray);
        }

        result = tessOCR.getOCRResult(bm);

        return result;
    }

    @Override
    protected void onPostExecute(String s) {
        super.onPostExecute(s);

        Intent intent = new Intent(CameraActivity.this, MainActivity.class);
        intent.putExtra("MRZ", s);
        startActivity(intent);

        pd.dismiss();

    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Oliver Haupt shoots beauty images for brands & agencies.
Campaign for jewelery brand EGUZKILORE, Agency: Dimensión, Executive Creative Director: Guillermo Viglione, Creative Director: Ángel González, Production Agency: Laura Aristeguieta, Account Executive: Ainhara Arriaga, Art Director: Iñaki González Barbado & Nora Valenciaga, Grafic Design: Iban Vaquero & Lander Soriano. Production: the unknown artist studio.
From the series: ¨Monique¨. Production: the unknown artist studio.
This new series wins a Gold Medal at PX3 Prix de la Photographie at Paris 2013 in the category: Profesional Fine Art.
Model: Ioana Catalina Hrimiuc, Hair and Makeup: Eva Artiguez Fleirez, production: the unknown artist studio.
¨In the year 2067.¨ Portrait shot the traditional way. Production: the unknown artist studio.


text: Q: Windows 8 Consumer Preview XAML - Are there IoC frameworks currently working? When coding XAML I always use MVVM frameworks to seperate concerns in my projects. I used MVVM Light in Windows 8 Developer Preview but this framework is not ready yet for Consumer Preview, do you know any other frameworks that are working right now with the consumer preview or just the IoC?


If you qualified to have fees waived for taking the SAT, you may be able to get your college application fees waived as well. The College Board, which administers the SAT, states on its site that students can apply to four participating schools for free if they took the SAT or SAT subject tests using a test fee waiver.
To expand access to the benefits of our programs, the College Board waives or reduces test fees for eligible low-income students. Fee waivers or reductions are available for the SAT, SAT Subject Tests, PSAT/NMSQT, and AP Exams.


text:
The Beatryce Prophecy (Hardcover)
By Kate DiCamillo, Sophie Blackall (Illustrator)
Keeper of the Lost Cities (Paperback)
Howl's Moving Castle (World of Howl #1) (Paperback)
By Diana Wynne Jones
The Graveyard Book (Paperback)
By Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean (Illustrator), Margaret Atwood (Foreword by)
A Tale of Sorcery... (A Tale of Magic... #3) (Hardcover)
The Dangerous Gift (Wings of Fire, Book 14) (Hardcover)
The City of Ember (Paperback)
By Jeanne DuPrau
The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell (Paperback)
Wings of Fire: The Dark Secret: A Graphic Novel (Wings of Fire Graphic Novel #4) (Paperback)
Willodeen (Hardcover)
The Unofficial Ultimate Harry Potter Spellbook: A complete reference guide to every spell in the wizarding world (The Unofficial Harry Potter Reference Library) (Hardcover)
By Media Lab Books


With over 60 years of service, Innotech Aviation is also among the most modern business aircraft maintenance, paint and interior completion centers in North America. Offering more than 200,000 square feet of hangar and workshops with highly specialized mechanics, technicians, craftspersons, and engineers. LADC captured the depth of this remarkable company by reflecting on the beauty of the interiors of the aircraft they complete and inner strength of the aircraft technology they maintain.


The sun is out and the temperature is arising. Backyard get-togethers, camping, or sitting by a bonfire is always great until the uninvited decide to join. Prevent itchy bug bites and stings with nature's botanicals. Born with benefits, they are a great all-natural alternative to store-bought sprays, which contain harsh chemicals that may cause irritation.
Just by exposing skin outdoors, you fall at risk for mosquito bites, which bear many lethal diseases like malaria and dengue. Proper use of essential oils repels mosquitoes so you and your family can enjoy your time outdoors with peace of mind. With multiple essential oils to choose from, keep mosquitoes at bay to reduce the risk of blood-borne disease and prevent itchy bites with ease.
Lavender essential oil has always been one of my favorites; it's extremely versatile and the benefits are endless. Lavender is best known for its positive effects in terms of relaxation and sleep, but what many people don't know is that it also helps with the prevention of bug bites and infestations. The distinct lavender aroma can also be used as an alternative to mothballs in keeping moths and other insects away. It is suitable for allergy sufferers and people of all ages and skin types.
Peppermint essential oil is one of our most popular. Its natural cooling properties are often used to soothe aches and pains. It also improves mental alertness, and its antidepressant properties help ease anxiety and stress. It not only has been shown to keep bugs away, but it kills many insect larvae before they can even hatch into full-grown insects. It has a strong aroma and is sought after in repelling various bugs including mosquitoes.
Tea Tree essential oil is multipurpose and one of the top insect repellents. It not only has anti-fungal properties, but it can also protect and soothe painful bites from mosquitoes and bugs. Have pets and need to get rid of or prevent fleas and other parasites? Tea Tree is your go-to!
If you're looking for a more pleasant summer scent, look no further. Lemongrass is a natural repellent because of its geraniol and citral content. High in insecticidal properties that repel mosquitoes and other insects, this oil is this season's must have.
Any of these oils can be used alone or blended to make your own custom homemade bug repellent. The vast majority of essential oils are too concentrated to apply directly to the skin alone and can cause serious irritation. We recommend to always dilute any essential oil in a carrier oil prior to application. We recommend diluting with any of our carrier oils; Jojoba, Rosehip, Argan, or Fractionated Coconut Oil at a 2:1 ratio, 2 drops of carrier oil for every 1 drop of essential oil.
To prepare for any outing, dilute about 10 drops of essential oil (of your choice) and four ounces of witch hazel in a spray bottle and spray on skin and/or clothes. Distilled water may be added to the mix if desired. Feel free to use your essential oil blends in a diffuser for its aromatherapeutic benefits. The scent should fill your room and keep bugs away. You can even put a few drops of one or more of these oils in your bath, to better absorb the oils into our skin. Have fun under the sun without itching and scratching this summer and all-season long. Radha's all natural and pure essential oils are sure to be effective and promote positive overall health and wellness.


Food Export Partners provide valuable services and knowledge to U.S. Suppliers who export food and agriculture products.
Entering the export market takes know-how. Exporter Education programs provide information and education in a variety of formats such as a helpline, printed materials, seminars and online resources.
Once you've accessed the Food Export Education materials, begin to develop new markets and meet international buyers.


WalletHub recently named Frisco as one of the three best places for real estate in the country. The Oxford Economic forecast projects Denton county will be the fastest growing economy in the nation over the next five years, and Collin county the second —in the nation. Remember Frisco lies in both counties. Let's also not forget that Money magazine selected Frisco as one of the best places to live in America.
We have the perfect place, our Inwood House of the Week, at 4926 Longvue in the gated community of The Lakes on Legacy.


Anime Lock Screen is New Free application to lock your android screen with cool Anime girls wallpaper and use Anime keyboard to protect your phone wid pin code, create widget home screen for easy settings. Anime lock screen is the best app to lock your android screen with Cool anime wallpapers, If you one of anime lovers this application for you, every time you open your phone you will see a beautiful anime wallpapers and in the same time you save your privacy with this lock screen app, Anime lock screen allow you to set a passcode to protect your files, or you can just using anime slide to unlock. but the best way is to use passcode becouse when you use passecode the app use also anime slide and that make your phone Cool, anime lock screen is free application and amazing don't miss it. Anime Lock Screen Features: Anime slide to unlock. Set passcode to protect your privacy. Cool themes. Free application. Anime wallpapers. Anime girld backgrounds. Easy to use. How to use Anime Lock Screen: If you want to active this free app just choose "enable" the anime lock screen slide will be active, and choose "Set passcode" to set code pin to your phone, done.


Nourish yourself with restful sleep!
Are you ready to conceive your baby? We invite you to take time out every day during your cycle to let go and relax. Immerse yourself in the positive visualisations contained in these relaxation exercises to enhance your fertile potential.
Settle and enjoy a deep restful sleep with this collection of guided relaxations.
Nourish yourself with restful sleep! Enjoy the soothing voice, which will help you to fall quickly into a deep, restful sleep. The words have been written to slow down thoughts, relax the body and allow a peaceful and refreshing sleep.
Listen if you have difficulty falling asleep to helping you move into a warm and restful state where sleep will naturally happen.
Listen to slow down your breathing and your thoughts, and you will drift, with a sense of peace and calmness, back to sleep.
This is a deeply quieting, short, guided relaxation to take you quickly into a deep sleep.
You can use this restful music on it's own or add to any of the other tracks by making a playlist to extend your listening time.


They say that life begins at the edge of your comfort zone, and while this is true of a great many things I definitely think it applies to the moment you become a parent.
It is exciting and terrifying but ultimately, life affirming and life-giving – for the child and for you which is why you'll often hear parents say 'I can't remember life without my kids in it'. It's true!!
Having said this and as optimistic as I am about most things I am a bag of nerves at this stage in the game.
Giving birth scares me. It didn't always but these days you can give me all the encouragement in the world and still not come close to the memories that have tattooed their name across my heart and mind.
Penny, she was the girl who gave me confidence and insight and strength that I've never known, but she is also the girl that haunts my pregnancy experience and makes me lose sight of myself when I am at my most vulnerable. Losing her means that I have to work very hard to believe that I'm not one step away from losing this baby or the next or the next. And being in hospital with all the gadgets and experts, as reassuring as they are, still feels like being in a room full of triggers never knowing which one might set me off or try to unravel me.
I remember while I was in labour with Costa and in quite a bit of pain, when one of the nurses brought in the gas and told me to take it and think of 'my happy place'. Little did she know that the last time I used gas I was giving birth to a baby who would forever know the world sleeping so if it was supposed to make me euphoric or numb, it just made me deeply sad and upset. Needless to say the gas was rubbish and I would sooner soldier on than go down that road.
Losing someone is never easy and depending on the circumstances in which you lose them, you'll never really get over it. You will instead learn to live with it. To let the fear and anxiety of that time ride alongside you even though it scares the hell out of you.
I lost Penny on the cusp of 39 weeks and because there was no conclusive answer as to why (a textbook pregnancy), I still wonder, I still blame myself sometimes and I still fear the worst, so it is safer for me both medically and mentally speaking to not go too far passed 38 weeks.
So tomorrow I will be induced, only if you thought that sounds like a nice/convenient way to birth, it isn't as straightforward as it sounds. You are essentially asking mother nature to spring into action against her will and so it can be a very long and drawn out way to labour (with a long lead in and plenty of painful stops and starts – 2 days with Costa) before the wheels start turning toward the end goal.
I will save the ending to this story for another day (because its yet to happen) but I wanted to acknowledge that pregnancy is still a scary ride for me and I don't think that will ever change but even still, I know that it is just my fear of the past forever trying to derail my hopes for the future.
Rather, I'll take the huge postivity chip that my folks gave me and hope that it transfers to the little gentleman in my belly so that he can greet this world with the biggest gift I can possibly give him. Eternal optimism. It's the thing that gets me through this and any other time I might feel wary. And I hope it will be the thing that motivates and protects him from all of life's troubles whenever he needs to cling on to something good.
Afterall, if not for hope and faith in one's self, what is there to cling to?


For the first time since Charles Darwin opened up the evolutionary paradigm of descent with modification through natural selection, we have the opportunity to understand the morphological and molecular developmental underpinnings of evolutionary change within populations and species at the level of the genome. This National Science Foundation sponsored Research Coordination Network will provide a unique opportunity for students, postdoctorals and faculty to combine historically diverse fields and in turn develop research programs at the interface of microevolutionary and developmental plant biology. The overarching goal of the microMORPH RCN is to study speciation and the diversification of plants by linking genes through development to morphology, and ultimately to adaptation and fitness, within the dynamic context of natural populations and closely related species.
Organizing intergenerational and interdisciplinary workshops involving graduate students and faculty.
Organizing educational courses that focus on providing researchers with a firm and in-depth understanding of fundamental concepts of organismic plant biology.
Offering cross-disciplinary training opportunities for students (undergraduate summer internships and graduate rotations away from the home institution) and postdoctorals.


This is part of a plant gropwing on a fence (and anywhere else it can get) that I found today. I know this is PI for sure; the photo is proof. The youngest set of leaves is reddish, and lower on the vine are roots that have started to cling onto the fence. Interesting leaf shapes (not visible in the picure).
Thank you for an excellent picture. The clarity of the aerial rootlets which allow the plant to cling / climb is excellent. For those wondering about what a young pi vine looks like - this is an excellent picture.


text:
Q: Algebraic numbers and Selberg class Hello,
I would like to know whether, given an algebraic number $\alpha$ of degree $d$, the Dedekind Zeta function $\zeta_{\mathbb{Q}(\alpha)}$ is always a function of the Selberg class of degree $d$ of not. I know that it is true when $\mathbb{Q}(\alpha)$ is an abelian extension of $\mathbb{Q}$, but what about the non abelian case?
Thank you in advance.

A: Yes, even the broader class of Hecke L-functions (general L-functions for GL(1) over number fields) are in Selberg's class, for straightforward reasons coming from the functional equation proven by Hecke (and redone by Iwasawa-Tate).
Perhaps the least obvious part is the "order" requirement, but this is what follows from the functional equation and from the Laplace-Stirling asymptotics for the Gamma function.


text:
A bank, a council and a wet, cold night
16 Jun, 2017 | Uncategorized
IT CAME AND WENT with a suddenness and fury. The rain was here to stay and its presence added to the cold of the early winter evening.
"Hope this weather doesn't affect attendance", the woman from the Bendigo Bank at the registration desk said to me.
"Well, there's nothing like cold weather and heavy rain to keep people away", I replied somewhat pessimistically.
I looked around the hall at the Randwick Community Centre. There was still a little time before the event was due to start but it seemed my pessimism might be well placed. The number of attendees you could count on the fingers of two hands. That the event could be a washout was a thought unsaid by more than myself that night.
Then, a few minutes before starting time a sudden influx of people had the registration woman busy ticking names off her list and giving them sticky name badges. Far from a washout, it seemed the night was going to go well. My pessimism turned to optimism.
And it did go well. The event, billed as the Sustainability and Social Impact Forum, was a joint venture between the Clovelly branch of the Bendigo Bank and Randwick City Council. As another woman from the bank said to me, rather than spending money on advertising budgets, the bank prefers to spend it on events such as these. Nationally, the bank as disbursed around $165 million to communities.
The Bendigo Bank videographer records the sessions.
A diversity or presenters and topics
Diversity is an established principle used in permaculture design, and although the seminar was not a permaculture event per se, it featured a diversity of speakers.
Two architecture companies were among the presenters. One did modern-looking energy efficient one-off designs for what I assume are clients with deep pockets or a good line of credit. The other was an innovative little company developing an approach to affordable housing based on the Ikea model — the flat-pack home (and here).
Big World Homes has developed an approach to affordable housing based on modular, off-site manufacture that it says can be constructed by two people over a few days using simple tools, including the roof that is installed from the inside. It is positioned as a transitional housing model to span the gap between renting and first home ownership and to relieve the chronic housing crisis and mortgage stress in our big cities.
According to the company, their design is:
" …a modular, mobile, off-grid housing system made from structural-thermal-waterproof integrated panels. It's ordered online, arrives flat-packed and can be built by two people over a few days using simple tools, making incredible savings on labour".
It is what has become known as a 'tiny house' and, like many tiny houses, is built on a long, wheeled trailer.
Joanne Jakovich, who presented for Big World Homes, said that the small house movement has taken off in the US but is less visible here in Australia. I agree with her in general, however I believe many people in the permaculture design movement have known of the tiny house movement for some time and it has a growing presence on social media. I recall visiting what would now be called small houses that were built in the 1980s and over following decades, well before someone created the 'tiny house' tag. They, though, were fixed houses rather than the mobile variant of the model.
The tiny house movement started to create a presence for itself in Australia less than a decade ago as news of it spread from the US. The idea of solving the housing affordability crisis with small dwellings that can be towed to new locations might be new in its present form, however it reminds me of how Australians have lived permanently in caravans over the decades. It also reminds me of a home on a rural property I visited in Aotearoa-New Zealand that was mounted on skids so, if needed, it could be towed to a new location on the property. That had to do with getting around building regulations.
Big World Homes has also launched Big World Communities:
" …a not-for-profit that works in partnership with developers, councils, community groups and individual landowners to locate off-grid home owner communities on unused land".
This has potential to address a challenge mobile tiny home owners face — where to park their home. In North America this is being addressed through tiny home parks where tiny home owners have access to shared services in a self-managed environment.
A catalog of good ideas
The presentations were something like a catalog of permaculture solutions that have been developed over the years. They illustrate how ideas once popular in permaculture design in past decades have taken on lives of their own, leaving the permaculture nursery to grow in the world beyond as independent practices. One solution offered at the seminar, social (also known as ethical) investment, is one of these. The contemporary movement, it's actually an industry, was started in Australia in the 1980s by Damien Lynch, who became a permaculture design course graduate and who was instrumental in developing permaculture's focus on alternative economics in that decade.
As well as social investment, solutions offered at the forum included environmental protection (a run-down of EPA activity), community gardens using the local Coogee Community Garden as example, solar energy, composting — with the regional Compost Revolution as an example of a joint local government/social enterprise approach to community composting education — and permaculture.
…permaculture is a platform of ethics, principles and characteristics upon which its practitioners develop useful applications…
The Bank had asked me to talk about permaculture design and practice. I approached this not through a theoretical presentation on the design system but by explaining that just like the mobile devices people had in their pockets, which are platforms of hardware and software on which developers produce useful apps, so permaculture is a platform of ethics, principles and characteristics upon which its practitioners develop useful applications. Using a photo presentation I introduced people enacting permaculture in different ways, such as through social investment, community education, community garden development, international development, horticultural education, landscape architecture and architecture.
Feed the people
People gather around food, and good food accompanied the forum, a requisite or any successful event where organisers want people to mingle and meet.
My only suggestion for improving the event would be that, next time, run the presentations consecutively. Offer coffee and a light snack before starting and more substantial finger food at the end. That way there is continuity and the opportunity to continue networking more so than interrupting the presentations for a brief food break.
The Sustainability and Social Impact Forum was an event even more successful because it attracted around its 100 people who had registered online despite the cold, heavy showers that swept though and battered on the roof on the community centre. It demonstrates that the Bendigo Bank is a different kind of bank and that councils can partner with such progressive businesses to create something relevant and useful to people, their concerns and their needs.


Norristown's walkable downtown offers independent retailers and restaurateurs the best of both worlds - local expenditure and the opportunity to capture expenditure potential from a broad trade area including two major shopping complexes located within three miles of Norristown. View the full Norristown Retail Strategy 2017 (PDF).
The downtown area offers more than 2,500 on and off-street parking spaces. The downtown parking occupancy findings reported in Norristown's most recent comprehensive parking analysis indicate that additional parking is available both on and off-street in the downtown.
Commercial opportunities in Downtown Norristown have high visibility and convenient access from main thoroughfares. Average annual daily traffic (AADT) counts are more than 14,400 on Main Street between Dekalb and Markley Streets, more than 9,000 on Dekalb Street between Lafayette and Airy Streets, and 27,300 on Markley. The planned conversion of Dekalb to a two-way street would serve to improve access to Downtown Norristown, as well as bring greater visibility to businesses along Dekalb Street.


Our bike trailers are all assembled and ready to go.
We've managed to squeeze in our precious cargo of retro homewares, we just hope they survive the journey!
Look out for us this Thursday when we will be making our way (very slowly) to Cambridge Market.
Now we can transport everything by bicycle we are looking forward to an even lower carbon footprint for the new year.


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Rome Georgia Area Home Supply Charts
This page looks at a variety of Rome Georgia housing market data taken from the most recent 2020 American Community Survey census data. Housing units are structures such as a single family home, apartment community, mobile home park, public housing, etc. where a person or family live and live separately from other residents of the building. Figure 1 shows the total number of housing units for each city. Rome shows it has a Housing Units of 15,938 which is the largest of all places in the greater Rome region.
Figure 2 illustrates the housing density in the Rome housing market as measured by housing units per square land mile (includes single family homes, apartments, etc.) Rome depicts it has a Housing Density of 501.7 which is the highest of all places in the surrounding region. Comparing housing density to the United States average of 38.9, Rome is considerably bigger. Also, versus the state of Georgia, housing density of 74.5, Rome is substantially bigger.
In Figure 4, Rome area change in the number of housing units and is a forward gauge (along with population change) for any potential housing shortage. Rome depicts it has a Housing Unit Change of 0.9% which is less than most other places in the local area. The city with the highest change in the housing units in the area is Plainville which depicts a housing units of 15.5% ( substantially bigger). Comparing change in the housing units to the United States average of 5.7%, Rome is approximately a sixth the size. Also, in comparison with the state of Georgia, change in the housing units of 4.8%, Rome is approximately a fifth the size.
Figure 5 shows the percentage of rental property based on that they are occupied by renters as a percent of the total number of households in the community (including homes, apartments, etc.) Rome depicts it has a Renter Percent of 53.9% which is more than all other places in the greater Rome region. Figure 6 illustrates the total number of housing units that are occupied by owners. it has a Owner Percent of 46.1% which is the smallest as measured by owner percent of all the other places in the metro area.
Rome Georgia Home Cost Charts
Looking at the housing data provided in Figure 7, the average Rome home price is illustrated for this community and a useful analysis of affordable housing. Rome depicts it has a Median Home Value of $151,200 which is at the top of all other places in the greater Rome region. Figure 8 provides aggregate comparative data for the Rome Georgia metro area in terms of the median housing rental rate, apartment rent, etc. Rome shows it has a Median Gross Rent of $724 which is in the mid range of other places in the greater region. The city with the highest rental rates in the area is Plainville which shows a rental rates of $843 (16.4% larger). Comparing rental rates to the United States average of $1,062, Rome is approximately three-fourths the size. Also, measured against the state of Georgia, rental rates of $1,006, Rome is approximately three-fourths the size.
Figure 9 provides the frequency distribution of home prices for the area and is useful for understanding affordable housing fund. Rome has the percentage of home price worth less than $50,000 less than most other places in the metro area at 26% of the total. Second, it has the largest proportion of home price worth between $400,000 to $500,000 at 5% of the total and is ranked #1.
Median owner costs for the real estate market are shown in Figure 10 and include the costs associated with any mortgage, utility expenses, insurance, and other miscellaneous costs. Rome depicts it has a Median Owner Cost of $910 which is ranked #1 of all places in the greater region. Figure 11 shows the median amount of cost as a percent of total household income for people who own homes in the Rome metro area. it has a Owner Cost as % of HH Income of 17% which is the third most of all other places in the metro area. The next chart, Figure 12, provides a comparison chart of the median home cost as a percent of a median worker take home earnings and is thus a valuable measure of affordable housing. Rome depicts it has a Median Home Value as Percent of Median Earnings of 436% which is more than all other places in the greater Rome region.
Figure 14 depicts the median cost of housing for owners with also have a mortgages (versus those who do not have a mortgage because mortgage cost is included.) Rome shows it has a Median Owner Costs-With Mortgage of $1,287 which is the second most median housing cost of all the places in the greater Rome region. Figure 15 is a chart that shows the median housing costs for owners who do not have mortgages (and therefore the cost of home ownership does not include mortgage cost.) it has a Median Owner Costs-Without Mortgage of $466 which is at the top of all other places in the greater Rome region.
Figure 16 shows the distribution in total housing cost for owners of property (so not renters.) This cost includes mortgages, lines of credit interest, utilities, taxes, insurance, etc. Rome has the smallest proportion of owner cost less than $300 at 12% of the total. Second, it has the largest proportion of owner cost between $700 and $1,000 at 22% of the total and is ranked #1. Third, it has one of the largest proportions of owner cost between $1,000 and $1,500 at 11% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger city being Cave Spring with 16%. Also, it has the largest proportion of owner cost between $1,500 and $2,000 at 7% of the total and is ranked #1. In addition, it has the largest proportion of owner cost between $2,000 and $2,500 at 2% of the total and is ranked #1. Furthermore, it has the largest proportion of owner cost between $3,500 and $4,000 at 1% of the total and is ranked #1.
Next shown in Figure 17 is the housing cost as a percent of household income for people who own their homes and have a mortgages (thus the cost of financing the home is included.) Rome shows it has a % of Income Owner Costs-With Mortgage of 21% which is in the mid range of other places in the metro area. The city with the highest cost as a percent of household income in the area is Lindale CDP which depicts a cost as a percent of household income of 25% (17.6% larger). Housing cost as a percent of household income for owners who do not have a mortgage is shown in Figure 18. This analysis can be useful for understanding the affordable housing for home ownership excluding any financing cost in the area shown. Rome depicts it has a % of Income Owner Costs-No Mortgage of 9% which is the smallest when ranked by cost as a percent of household income of all the other places in the greater region. The city with the highest cost as a percent of household income in the area is Plainville which depicts a cost as a percent of household income of 16% (75.6% larger).
Figure 19 looks at the cost of rent for rental property using the percent of total household income which is a valuable measure of financial health for the area. (The higher the proportion of rent payments to total household income is a sign of greater financial stress. Also, rent can be covered by rent assistance and rent assistance programs in the form of rent assistance.) Rome has one of the largest proportions of rent as a percent of income is less than 10 pct at 24% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger city being Plainville with 39%. Second, it has one of the largest proportions of rent as a percent of income is between 10pct to 20pct at 19% of the total and is ranked #3. Only #2 Lindale CDP (25%), and #1 Cave Spring (27%) are larger. Third, it has the second smallest in terms of rent as a percent of income is less than 10 pct of all the other places in the local area in order of rent as a percent of income is between 20pct to 30pct at 15% of the total. Also, it has in the mid range of other places in the surrounding region in order of rent as a percent of income is between 40pct to 50pct at 23% of the total.
Figure 20 shows the total housing cost for both home owners and apartment community renters in the area. Rome has the smallest proportion of housing cost less than $300 at 12% of the total. Second, it has the largest proportion of housing cost between $700 and $1,000 at 19% of the total and is ranked #1. Third, it has the largest proportion of housing cost between $1,500 and $2,000 at 4% of the total and is ranked #1. Also, it has the largest proportion of housing cost between $2,000 and $2,500 at 1% of the total and is ranked #1.
Figure 21 shows median amount of real estate taxes paid for home owners in the region. it has a Median Real Estate Taxes Paid of $1,531 which is the highest of all places in the local area. Comparing median real estate taxes paid to the United States average of $2,471, Rome is approximately three-fourths the size. Also, benchmarked against the state of Georgia, median real estate taxes paid of $1,623, Rome is about 6.0% smaller.
Figure 22 shows the percentage of renters who pay for utilities in Rome Georgia. This is calculated as the percent of renters who pay separately for utilities versus the people who have utilities included as part of amenities. Rome has the largest proportion of pay extra for utilities at 14% of the total and is ranked #1.
Figure 23 shows the rental rate distribution for this area. Rome Georgia has the percentage of rent between 500 and 750 dollars the second smallest in order of rent less than 300 dollars of all the other places in the local area at 24% of the total. Second, it has one of the largest proportions of rent between 750 and 1000 dollars at 16% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger city being Kingston with 18%. Third, it has the largest proportion of rent between $1,500 and $2,500 at 1% of the total and is ranked #1. Also, it has the largest proportion of rent between $2,500 and $3,500 at 0% of the total and is ranked #1.
Rome Georgia Home Financing Charts
The analysis in Figure 25 shows the detailed distribution of owned homes by mortgage status. Rome has the largest proportion of both 2nd mortgage and heloc at 51% of the total and is ranked #1. Second, it has the second smallest when sorted by with mortgage of all the other places in the local area when ranked by no 2nd mortgage and no heloc at 42% of the total.
Figure 26 shows the proportion of houses with a mortgage versus those without a mortgage. Rome has the percentage of houses with mortgages the second smallest in terms of houses with a mortgage of all the other places in the surrounding region at 42% of the total.
Rome Georgia Home Characteristics Charts
Figure 28 shows the household size for families living in the area and it has a Family size of 3.3 which is in the center range of other places in the greater region. The city with the highest family members per housing unit in the area is Lindale CDP which depicts a family members per housing unit of 3.4 (only about 5.6% larger). Comparing family members per housing unit to the United States average of 3.3, Rome is only about 2.2% smaller. Also, benchmarked against the state of Georgia, family members per housing unit of 3.4, Rome is only about 4.3% smaller.
Figure 29 show the median number of rooms in a typical home for each location in this area. it has a Median Number of Rooms of 5.3 which is the second most average number of rooms in a house of all the places in the greater Rome region. The city with the highest average number of rooms in a house in the area is Lindale CDP which depicts an average number of rooms in a house of 5.4 ( only slightly larger). Figure 30 shows, for the average house in each location, the median year that a house was built. This can be useful for understanding the relative age of one neighborhood versus another for a real estate investor. it has a Median Year Built of 1972 which is the second most year built of all the places in the greater Rome region. The city with the highest year built in the area is Cave Spring which depicts a year built of 1973 ( about the same size).
Figure 31 looks at the distribution of housing units by the median age that the homes were built. it has one of the largest proportions of homes built in 2014 or later at 2% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger city being Lyerly with 3%. Second, it has one of the largest proportions of homes built between 2010 to 2013 at 13% of the total and is ranked #3. Only #2 Plainville (13%), and #1 Cave Spring (20%) are larger. Third, it has the smallest proportion of homes built between 1940 to 1949 at 14% of the total.
Figure 33 shows the difference in the number of housing units based on whether they are occupied by owners or renters. it has the largest proportion of one unit detached at 3% of the total and is ranked #1. Second, it has the largest proportion of one unit attached at 8% of the total and is ranked #1. Third, it has the largest proportion of 3 or 4 units at 5% of the total and is ranked #1. Also, it has the largest proportion of 5 to 9 units at 5% of the total and is ranked #1. In addition, it has the largest proportion of 10 to 19 units at 3% of the total and is ranked #1. Furthermore, it has the largest proportion of 20 to 49 units at 6% of the total and is ranked #1. Next it has the smallest proportion of 50 or more units at 1% of the total.
Figure 34 shows the median value of homes broken down by the median year that the homes were built. it has one of the largest proportions of value of homes built 2010 to 2013 at $271,600 of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger city being Kingston with $275,000. Second, it has one of the largest proportions of value of homes built 2000 to 2009 at $179,200 of the total and is ranked #3. Only #2 Cave Spring ($183,300), and #1 Lindale CDP ($250,000) are larger. Third, it has the largest proportion of value of homes built 1990 to 1999 at $146,300 of the total and is ranked #1. Also, it has one of the largest proportions of value of homes built 1980 to 1989 at $144,600 of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger city being Lindale CDP with $180,200. In addition, it has the largest proportion of value of homes built 1970 to 1979 at $153,300 of the total and is ranked #1. Furthermore, it has the largest proportion of value of homes built 1960 to 1969 at $96,600 of the total and is ranked #1. Next it has one of the largest proportions of value of homes built 1950 to 1959 at $79,100 of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger city being Kingston with $104,200. Additionally, it has one of the largest proportions of value of homes built 1940 to 1949 at $120,700 of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger city being Plainville with $125,000.
The next two charts show both the average household size of homeowners versus the average household size of renters. Starting with Figure 36 we see the household size of homeowners for Rome residents. it has a Owner-Household Size of 2.6 which is the second most of all the places in the local area. The city with the highest homeowner household size in the area is Lindale CDP which shows a homeowner household size of 2.7 ( only slightly larger).
Figure 37 shows the household size for renters. Rome depicts it has a Renter-Household Size of 2.3 which is the second smallest when ranked by renter household size of all the other places in the metropolitan area. The city with the highest renter household size in the area is Plainville which depicts a renter household sizes of 3.7 (59.3% larger). Figure 38 shows the year that people who own homes moved into this region. it has one of the largest proportions of owners moved in 2017 or later at 10% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger city being Shannon CDP with 11%. Second, it has in the mid range of other places in the greater region when ranked by owners moved in 2015 to 2016 at 19% of the total. Third, it has the smallest proportion of owners moved in 1990 to 1999 at 14% of the total. Figure 39 shows the year that people who rent moved into the area. Rome has one of the largest proportions of renters moved in 2017 or later at 29% of the total and is ranked #3. Only #2 Plainville (30%), and #1 Shannon CDP (36%) are larger. Second, it has one of the largest proportions of renters moved in 2015 to 2016 at 39% of the total and is ranked #3. Only #2 Lyerly (39%), and #1 Plainville (56%) are larger.
Figure 40 compares the median year that home owners moved into their home. it has a Owner Median Year Moved In of 2004 which is the most of all places in the local area. Figure 41 compares the median year that renters moved into their home. Rome depicts it has a Renter Median Year Moved In of 2014 which is in the mid range of other places in the greater region.
Figure 42 shows the frequency distribution of various types of energy sources used for homes in the community. has the percentage of homes using coal or coke less than most other places in the greater region at 0% of the total. Second, it has the largest proportion of homes using wood at 0% of the total and is ranked #1. Third, it has the largest proportion of homes using solar energy at 0% of the total and is ranked #1.
The next two charts show the number of people living in group quarters and includes temporary as well permanent housing which may be run by the Rome housing department, Georgia department, or other housing authority or public housing agency. beginning with Figure 43 which shows the total number of people. Rome shows it has a Total In Group Quarters of 1,483 which is at the top of all other places in the greater Rome region.
Figure 44 shows the percentage of people who are living in group quarters to the total population for Rome residents (these may include colleges and jails but also community centers for homelessness or that require a housing choice voucher which are run by certain nonprofits or an affordable housing department.) Rome has the largest proportion of number of people under 18 years of age and in group quarters at 96% of the total and is ranked #1.
Rome, Georgia Housing Data
Figure 1: Rome, GA Area Total Housing Units
Figure 2: Rome, GA Housing Density (Houses per Sq. Mile)
Figure 5: Rental Homes in Rome, GA
Figure 6: Owned Homes in Rome, GA
Figure 7: Rome, GA Median Home Prices
Figure 8: Rome, GA Median Monthly Rent Amounts
Figure 9: Rome, GA Home Price Distribution
Figure 10: Rome, GA Median Monthly Owner Cost
Figure 14: Rome, GA Median Monthly Owner Cost with Mortgage
Figure 15: Rome, GA Median Monthly Owner Cost without Mortgage
Figure 16: Distribution of Monthly Owner Costs in Rome, GA
Figure 19: Rome, GA Rent as a percent of Household Income
Figure 20: Monthly Housing Cost for Owners or Renters in Rome, GA
Figure 21: Rome, GA Median Annual Real Estate Taxes Paid
Figure 22: Rome, GA Utilities Included with amenities or Excluded in Rent
Figure 23: Rome, GA Monthly Median Rent Rates
Figure 24: Rome, GA Monthly Median Rent Rates by Size of Rental in Bedrooms
Figure 25: Rome, GA Detailed Mortgage Status
Figure 26: Rome, GA Houses With vs. Without a Mortgage
Figure 27: Average Household Size in Rome, GA
Figure 28: Average Family Size in Rome, GA
Figure 30: Rome, GA Median Year House Built
Figure 31: Rome, GA Year that House Built Distribution
Figure 32: Number of Owners vs. Renters in Rome, GA and Area
Figure 33: Rome, GA Area Housing Types
Figure 34: Rome, GA Median Home Value By Year Structure Built
Figure 35: Occupied and Vacant Housing units in Rome, GA
Figure 37: Rome, GA Renter Household Size
Figure 42: Rome, GA Fuel Used to Heat Home
Figure 44: Rome, GA Population in Group Quarters


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FAIR Conference Coming Soon, Temple Topics and FARMS to be Addressed
July 10, 2012 by Bryce Haymond	16 Comments
Dr. Peterson gives his address at 2010 FAIR Conference (Photo by R. Scott Lloyd)
I thought I'd take a moment and give a shout out for The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) and their 14th annual conference coming up in less than a month, on August 2-3, 2012, in Sandy, Utah. I have attended this conference in years past (which I liveblogged in 2008), and I will be attending again this year.
For those interested in the temple, topics will include "Book of Abraham, I Presume" by John Gee, and "Piercing the Veil: Temple Worship in the Lost 116 Pages" by Don Bradley, as well as many other very interesting subjects. Those that are interested in the ongoing FARMS/Maxwell Institute situation, the original founder of FARMS, John W. Welch, will be speaking about his further research on chiasmus, as will former Mormon Studies Review/FARMS Review editor Daniel C. Peterson, on the topic "Of 'Mormon Studies' and Apologetics," which should be interesting given recent events.
It is significant to note that this year that you don't have to travel to Sandy, Utah, to take part. The conference will also be available online via live video/audio streaming! You can sit in the comfort of your living room, or even on-the-go via your mobile smartphone or tablet, from anywhere in the world, and take part in this excellent conference. This news comes direct from FAIR:
This year we are providing Conference streaming for your Windows, Android, Apple, and even Roku devices. Here is a way for you to have your own FAIR Conference in your home. Hook it up to your big-screen TV and invite over your friends for a FAIR Conference event. We have updated our technology on this, so the price for streaming the conference into your home, or two your phones, computers or tablets is $15 for each day or $25 for both days. When you sign up, in the comments section please mention which device or devices you are planning on using (Roku, iphone, ipad, Android tablet, etc.)
Sign up for the two days of streaming here: http://bookstore.fairlds.org/product.php?id_product=1314
Thursday-only streaming here: http://bookstore.fairlds.org/product.php?id_product=1085
Friday-only streaming here: http://bookstore.fairlds.org/product.php?id_product=1313
Read more about the upcoming FAIR Conference here.
Update: I've changed some information here, as Trevor has given more details.
Posted in: Announcements	Tagged: abraham, apologetics, attendance, bookstore, conference, daniel c. peterson, information, john gee, maxwell institute, media, mobile, online, streaming, temple worship, video
Attacking Hugh Nibley's Work
July 2, 2012 by Bryce Haymond	44 Comments
Hugh W. Nibley (1910-2005)
As if going after the present-day apologists in their current awful circumstances is not enough, yes, those apologists alive today that can actually still defend themselves against spurious arguments, some have now turned their attention to one of the Church's most beloved apologists, the late Hugh W. Nibley (1910-2005). See "Fundanibleists and Fauxpologetics," at Faith Promoting Rumor. It should be well noted that those bloggers are members of the Church.
Oudenos argues that the "Nibley approach to apologetics and its reception have, in part, had long term and still expanding negative effects on church members" [emphasis mine]. I completely disagree with Oudenos, and his arguments, some of which he presented but somehow failed to explain why they are "negative". Hugh Nibley has been profoundly influential in charting the course of LDS scholarship in the 20th and 21st centuries, taking it up to a whole new level unthought of before, and giving members bountiful evidences for the truth of the gospel, from dozens of cultures and time periods worldwide, which has helped strengthen the faith and testimony of countless people, inside and outside the Church. Indeed, many have joined the Church after reading Nibley's work, and then receiving a witness of the truth of the gospel. Daniel Peterson's own father had a conversion experience like this.
So this was my comment, with a few minor edits, addressing each of his seven points:
My comments, as founder of TempleStudy.com, a blog dedicated to the work of Hugh Nibley:
1) [Nibley's writings] are authoritative (with a lower case "a") if you consider what even priesthood Authorities (capital "A") have said about him and his work. Nibley was incredibly smart, educated, and knowledgeable about an almost endless number of subjects and languages. He had a tremendous amount to say and teach, even being personally invited to teach the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve within the Salt Lake Temple. I know of no other scholars who have done that. I believe President Kimball once cleaned the dust off of his shoes, for what it's worth [see Boyd J. Peterson, Hugh Nibley, A Consecrated Life]. All these things lead one to become authoritative in some degree; in Nibley's case, it made him very authoritative in the subjects he addressed.
2) Nibley's work is elevated, no doubt, but I would not say it is dense and impenetrable. I've poked some at it, and I have a degree in Industrial Design (i.e. nothing related to ANE studies, ancient languages, Near Eastern cultures, history, or the like). He has taught me worlds. His book Approaching Zion completely changed my life, teaching me unlike any other that this life is our time to prepare to meet God, and that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important thing in this life. By the way, there is more being uncovered that Nibley first discovered all the time. He opened the door to many rooms which we have now just begun to enter into. His work will be updated (see also #6).
3) Why is finding ancient parallels and sources for modern LDS temple ritual a bad thing? Just because ancient things may not always equal genuine or divine has nothing to do with it. It does mean that these things have had their counterparts in history, even before Joseph Smith. Hugh Nibley once wrote, "Latter-day Saints believe that their temple ordinances are as old as the human race and represent a primordial revealed religion that has passed through alternate phases of apostasy and restoration which have left the world littered with the scattered fragments of the original structure, some more and some less recognizable, but all badly damaged and out of proper context…" (Intro in Hugh Nibley, The Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment).
4) Again, why is looking into non-biblical records for that which shines light on Joseph Smith's work a bad thing? I would see it as a vindication of the Prophet. These "nuggets" are especially interesting to Latter-day Saints, in the sense of apologia. But I would hardly call Hugh Nibley's work a disregard for everything else those texts had to offer. Remember, Nibley published in many academic journals and periodicals about his findings, which were all peer reviewed and valuable to scholars everywhere.
5) Again, why is [searching for pre-Joseph Smith "nuggets"] bad? Please explain your arguments, and why this is "negative." If something truly ancient and archaic that was not known at the time of Joseph Smith crops up in Church doctrine, ritual, or scripture, could that not be interesting evidence for the divine calling of the Prophet, revealing things he himself could not have known except by revelation? Even Harold Bloom was amazed by the Prophet's ability to do this: "I can only attribute to his genius or daemons his uncanny recovery of elements in ancient Jewish theurgy that had ceased to be available either to Judaism or to Christianity, and that had survived only in esoteric traditions unlikely to have touched Smith directly" (Harold Bloom, The American Religion, 101).
6) I've noted on TempleStudy.com recently that Nibley and his contemporary LDS scholars hardly made absolutist claims about Abraham, Egypt, or anything else. Nibley quipped that he couldn't be held responsible for anything he said three years ago, because things were constantly changing in scholarship and knowledge. John Gee noted where Nibley was mistaken in the second edition of An Egyptian Endowment, and carefully pointed where new information was now available. I do not believe I'm always accurate in what I say on my blog, but I try my best. The absolute truth and nothing but the truth will come later (see my recent post on alethiology).
7) Drive by blog it? Really?
For valuing so much of what Nibley wrote, and changing your life, you do him and his work a true disservice here, sir. You dishonor his name, his work, and his life.
I think it's quite odd the way these members of the Church will write such critical things, but quickly follow them up with affectionate words, for example, "I value much of what Nibley wrote. His writings inspired a younger version of me and altered my life trajectory." Sometimes the flowers come out before the criticisms, like "I have nothing against Daniel Peterson." Really? Then what are you doing calling his work "violent"? Perhaps this is to help soften the blow? Or is it a kind of Trojan Horse, to hook unsuspecting members or others? There's a disingenuousness to it all.
Posted in: Scholarship	Tagged: apologetics, book, comment, egyptian, endowment, first presidency, harold bloom, hugh nibley, john gee, joseph smith, joseph smith papyri, salt lake temple, scholar
"Restore FARMS" Support Organization
June 29, 2012 by Bryce Haymond	5 Comments
If you liked reading the original FARMS, join our new support organization, Restore FARMS, to help see it restored to its original mission. You can also like our Facebook Page to stay updated.
There are many people who are disappointed with the events of the past week at the Maxwell Institute at BYU. Indeed, it appears as if the original mission and purpose of the FARMS organization has now been completely lost, with the dismissal of Daniel C. Peterson as Editor of the Mormon Studies Review (formerly the FARMS Review), and his team of associate editors. In a comment today on David Bohn's blog post at Times & Seasons, Dr. Peterson noted:
I have solid and direct reason to believe that the new direction being charted by the Institute omits anything that most Latter-day Saints would recognize as apologetics… And, at a very minimum, there is the incontrovertible fact that the Review, which has long represented the Institute's apologetic aspect at its most explicit, has been put on indefinite hiatus. Given that the Institute's publication of books has dwindled to virtually nothing, it's difficult to see exactly where the "new course's" apologetics efforts are going to appear, now that the Review is gone.
This concerns us deeply. FARMS has represented a highly respected and influential group of scholars whose ultimate goal was the defense of the Church from its critics, and sustaining the faith of Church members through education. The fact that this now appears to be "gone" swings the door wide open to an onslaught of unanswered criticism of the Church, and members with little recourse. The organization Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR), and Scholarly & Historical Information Exchange for Latter-day Saints (SHIELDS), are still excellent resources (indeed, they are the only ones left), but the loss of FARMS will leave a gaping hole in our efforts to defend the Church's doctrines, history, and scriptures through a scholarly approach to research and publications.
A quote often associated with Edmund Burke says, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." This mirrors a revelation given by the Lord through Joseph Smith the Prophet, now found in Doctrine and Covenants 58:27, which states, "Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness." Instead of sit around and do nothing, some of us have decided to do something, to engage ourselves of our own free will, and do what we can do, now, to gather the supporters of FARMS under the same roof, and establish a cause, to help support the future of this great organization.
Tevya Washburn, founder of MormonLifeHacker.com, and I have decided to join together to organize Restore FARMS, a support organization with the goal of restoring FARMS to its original mission and purpose. We don't know exactly what that means for FARMS and its scholars. Will it once again regroup as an independent organization? Will it be given its own place again at BYU, with a board of directors consisting of FARMS scholars who share in its vision? Will it join with FAIR in a joint apologetics mission? We don't know. What we do know is that we do not want to see FARMS just disappear. And we want your input! The Church needs, as it always has, defenders who are willing to address the many criticisms leveled at it by its detractors, and to help members who are struggling in their faith because of such material.
We have organized a website at RestoreFARMS.com, as well as a Facebook Page. If you want to join with us in rallying supporters for traditional FARMS, please visit Restore FARMS, and also click the "like" button below for our Facebook Page. You can also click "Send" to send this message to your friends, family, or groups on Facebook or by email address:
Note: This is a grassroots effort, without any direct affiliation with BYU, the Maxwell Institute, FARMS, FARMS scholars, or the Church. We, the readers, supporters, and donors of FARMS want to organize together, and help continue what was started 33 years ago. There is strength in numbers. Help us restore FARMS to its former stature as a scholarly apologetics organization which sustains and defends The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through ongoing informative publications.
Posted in: Scholarship	Tagged: apologetics, BYU, cause, critics, daniel c. peterson, facebook, joseph smith, maxwell institute, organization, purpose, scholar, scholars, support, website
Daniel C. Peterson – "Humble Apologetics"
June 28, 2012 by Bryce Haymond	10 Comments
This blog will not always have posts about temple studies, I admit, as there are other things that are at work today, about which I feel I must write a little. They keep in the same genre of sustaining and defending the Church and its members.
Over the past few days I've never heard so much negative criticism of the Maxwell Institute and FARMS, in the various venues online. You'd think BYU had been harboring a criminal all these years. Even Mormon apologetics in general is now taboo, unfit for the Church, a view which even some members are advocating. The fad of the week is to say that "FARMS-style" apologetics is hurting the Church, is damaging to members, destroying their faith, is a losing affair, and does nobody any good, and that's why its remaining vestiges were finally eradicated, wholly and completely from BYU. Even the Brethren must be against apologetics and the apologists to allow, nay, to cause, nay, to be the force behind, nay, to have directly requested what happened at the Maxwell Institute last week. Ousting Dan Peterson and stopping the work of "FARMS" must have been the goal of BYU and the Church all along. It's so clear now in hindsight. The very first moderated comment on my last post? "FARMS was an embarrassment."
Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. They even go so far as to determinedly conclude that it is Mormon apologetics, in fact, that is having a negative influence on the Church, which you'll notice is completely backwards from its true meaning and purpose. Indeed, they are saying that the defenders are now essentially those doing the damage, which is almost comical in its twistedness. [Read more…]
Posted in: Scholarship	Tagged: apologetics, baptismal font, BYU, conference, critics, daniel c. peterson, fair, farms, maxwell institute, online, talk, video, watch, youtube


February 2016 | Stop Fennovoima!
Fennovoima-Rosatom opened a logo competition: ever heard of adbusting?
First off: we've received questions of what #'s to use to help this go viral in Twitter and social media's alike. Let us see #stopfennovoima to unite logo makers and other creative minds of productive mischief! #Fennovoima and #fennovoima can also be added.
We bet that most of you, who surf on the waves of internet, have come across those "participatory and interactive" advertisement campaigns and other attempts to engage consumers, browsers and users into one sweet dialogue-knitting cloud of friends. Thus, we also bet that most of you have bumped onto side effects of many of these campaigns: like the New York Police Department who failed miserably with their call for photos of citizens and their friendly neighborhood cops – and ended up getting a bit too honest of a response.
And now Fennovoima-Rosatom is presenting us with a fresh new logo competition: they honestly are inviting all of us to participate the great work of building up the brand of the planned nuclear power plant construction site! You read it correctly: the logo for the site. They have probably noticed how the main constructor of the site, Russian Titan-2, has had bit of a problem in remembering to pay its workers and that everything is already running late from original schedual – so hey, let's rebrand the whole thing and hope people will forget!
So what should we do – but to invite everyone to participate this great competition with the most creative, truthfull take on the topic. Let's brand this nuclear project of fails and delays, geopolitics and shadyness in a way internet has never seen!
Let the games begin, as they say.
Like most of the protest sites and projects alike, also the anti-nuclear protest camp at Pyhäjoki is used on getting its share of varying contacts. The camp email takes on the usual approaches of interested civilians, folks donating useful stuff or just people expressing their solidarity or support for the cause. From photos about solidarity actions in different corners of the continent to locals offering rain jackets – yes, we get that too.
Alongside and among these usual contacts are also the ones from interested medias: some more DIY- and comrade -based than others. The latest one we received from the British Isles, from the DIY-radio station Dissident Island Radio.
And this is the result of that session: a nice little nutshell of the history of anti-nuclear struggle at Pyhäjoki, the general energy political situation of Finland and, most of all, of the upcoming action week in April. Tune in: download or listen. Stop Fennovoima -section starts around 82 minutes (1h 22 minutes, that is).
Roughly 8AM on 3th of February couple of activists from the anti-nuclear protest camp in Pyhäjoki decided to visit the construction site of the planned nuclear power plant of Fennovoima-Rosatom.
Titan-2, the Russian company and the Main Building Contractor of most of Rosatom´s projects has a long history of unpaid salaries, forgotten payments, major delays and shady connections. On late January, several national media's wrote about Titan-2's financial troubles in Finland: turned out it had been Pyhäjoki's turn to have its share of forgotten rents, unpaid salaries, sacked workers and procurements moved to Russia instead of local grounds – as originlly promised. Naturally, the activists got interested to check what exactly is happening at the constrution site in this situation – and decided to hold a bit of a civil inspection at the site.
The activists faced no troubles in entering the supposedly guarded construction site. While checking the premises, they also visited some of the still standing, expropriated cottages – wishing the former owners could still one day return.
After inspecting enough, one of them occupied a digger. By that time, the familiarly clueless security company, Arlia, also noticed there's something strange happening in the neighborhood.
After that, that usual procedure followed. Cops made their way to the site, person occupying the digger refused to come down, clueless security personnel bobbed around trying to look efficient – and after a couple of hours the cherry picker rolled in. One person was detained, others managed not to run directly in to the arms of the clueless security, and thus, were not caught but made it off of the site undetained.
Ok. We're not of that type who'd tend to say "we told you so": but – we told you so. Already in July 2015 the Pyhäjoki protest camp threw a solidarity action for the worker's left unpaid at Titan-2's worksite in Russia. The company is in charge of the construction of the reference plant of Hanhikivi 1. On July 2015 this site made it to the Russian headlines after a crane operator locked himself into his crane, demanding the unpaid salaries to be delivered to the workers. Some workers stated they haven't got paid for four months. With the solidarity action the activists wated to draw attention to the exploitation of workforce tends to be also characteristic for this type of projects. There´s only so many ways to keep a business profitable: and while destruction of nature is one, exploitation of human reources is another one.
The Finnish subcontractors at the Pyhäjoki site have been reluctant to comment the latest events publicly. Is the silence being hold over a fear of loosing contracts, or te keep further trouble away – or have these firms perhaps agreed to special terms in case of problems already when signing the deals? At least one of the subcontractors has threatened to pull his machinery off of the construction site, but cancelled the plan when getting his payments delivered on the last moment.
Fennovoima-Rosatom's project director Minna Forsström's explanation's for the reasons behind the difficulties in payments were held implausible by many national medias. In the era of internet ordinary citizens trade over different borders without "transaction- and ban issues" giving any trouble. A year ago Russian ngo Bellona aso reported of Rosatom's financial difficultie's at the compaby's South African worksite.
Besides salaries, Titan-2 has also left rents unpaid and sacked some its workers for "productional and financial reasons". How true these stated reasons are can be compared to the fact that Titan-2 has also its procurement unit at Pyhäjoki and stated, that from this one it will direct all of its prucurings to Russia. At least one of the sacked workers is taking his case to the district court.
We all know how often its stated that these projects are all about jobs: but to whom? COmpanies size of Rosatom tend to bring not only their own rules, but also their own staff instead of hiring locally. The workforce used in preparatory works are customarely low-cost workforce brought in from cheaper Baltic and former Eastern bock countries – and there's no reason to expect the Fennovoima-Rosatom site to be any different. False promises about jobs are just one more trincet these firms use to get what they want from municipalities and communities.
Both reactors, Hanhikivi 1 ja Leningrad 2 in Sosnovyi Bor share besides Titan-2 also a second company, St.Petersburgian Spaep. What you bet: how soon we're going to have more troubles rolling in?


text:
import Query from './Query';

export class WhereQuery {
    public readonly key;
    public readonly logicalOperator: string;
    public readonly parent;
    constructor(parent: Query, key: string, logicalOperator: string = '$and') {
        this.parent = parent;
        this.logicalOperator = logicalOperator;
        this.key = key;
    }

    private set(operator: string, value: any) {
        return this.parent.add(this.key, operator, value, this.logicalOperator);
    }

    public get is() {
        return this;
    }

    public eq(value: boolean | number | string) {
        return this.set('$eq', value);
    }

    public exists(value: boolean = true) {
        return this.set('$exists', value);
    }

    public gt(value: number) {
        return this.set('$gt', value);
    }

    public gte(value: number) {
        return this.set('$gte', value);
    }

    public in(value: (boolean | string | number)[] | boolean | string | number) {
        if (value instanceof String || !(value instanceof Array)) {
            return this.set('$in', [value]);
        }

        return this.set('$in', value);
    }

    public lt(value: number) {
        return this.set('$lt', value);
    }

    public lte(value: number) {
        return this.set('$lte', value);
    }

    public ne(value: boolean | number | string) {
        return this.set('$ne', value);
    }

    public nin(value: (boolean | string | number)[]) {
        return this.set('$nin', value);
    }
}

export default WhereQuery;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
State v. Guity
STATE OF HAWAI'I, Respondent/Plaintiff-Appellee,
WALTER GUITY, Petitioner/Defendant-Appellant.
CERTIORARI TO THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS (CAAP-12-0000287; CR. NO. 11-1-0288 and FC-CR. NO. 10-1-0022)
Shawn A. Luiz (Brian A. Costa on the briefs and application) for Petitioner.
Stephen K. Tsushima for Respondent.
After having entered a plea agreement, but prior to sentencing, Petitioner/Defendant-Appellant Walter Guity ("Guity"), representing himself, orally moved in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit ("circuit court") to withdraw guilty pleas in his global plea agreement to two criminal offenses-one charged in the family district court ("family court case") that was legally impossible for him to have committed under the law in effect at the time of his plea. The second offense was charged in the circuit court ("circuit court case"). At the conclusion of the hearing, the circuit court denied Guity's oral motion to withdraw pleas in both cases and entered a sentence pursuant to the plea agreement.
Because both of Guity's pleas were encompassed in a global plea agreement, and the Intermediate Court of Appeals ("ICA") correctly concluded that Guity was entitled to withdraw his plea in the family court case, the ICA should have also held that Guity was permitted to withdraw his plea in the circuit court case. Accordingly, we vacate the ICA's judgment on appeal, the circuit court's judgments, and the circuit court's order denying Guity's motion to withdraw pleas and remand to the circuit court with instructions to accept Guity's withdrawal of both pleas.
In May 2010, Guity was charged in the family court with multiple counts relating to an incident with his wife, including attempted first-degree sexual assault. In March 2011, while awaiting trial in the family court case, Guity was charged in the circuit court with multiple counts of second-degree and fourth-degree sexual assault in an incident involving another woman.
In May 2011, Guity entered a plea agreement in the circuit court encompassing both cases. In that agreement, he pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of third-degree sexual assault in the family court case, and pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault in the circuit court case. In return, the State agreed to dismiss the remaining counts in both cases.
At the time of the plea agreement, it was legally impossible for Guity to have committed the crime to which he had pleaded guilty in the family court case relating to his wife. Hawai'i Revised Statutes ("HRS") § 707-732(1)(f) (2014) (defining sexual assault in the third degree as "knowingly, by strong compulsion," having "sexual contact with another person"); HRS § 707-700 (2014) (defining "sexual contact" as "any touching, other than acts of 'sexual penetration', of the sexual or other intimate parts of a person not married to the actor" (emphasis added)).[1] As the transcript of the change of plea hearing makes clear, the State, Guity, and the court accepting his plea were all aware at the time of his plea that third-degree sexual assault excluded an offense involving a spouse.[2]
A. Circuit Court Proceedings
Guity was represented by private counsel during his plea negotiations and at his change of plea hearing. He subsequently became dissatisfied with his attorney, who withdrew. Guity was appointed a deputy public defender; he, too, subsequently withdrew from representing Guity. On December 10, 2011, Guity notified the circuit court he wanted to represent himself.
On January 17, 2012, the circuit court held a hearing in which it inquired into Guity's desire to represent himself on a motion to withdraw his guilty pleas.[3] Guity's explanation of his motives and readiness to represent himself was ambiguous. For example, at the very end of the hearing, the circuit court asked, "I take it that you're making a voluntary, knowing, and intelligent decision that you do not want [court-appointed counsel] to actually handle this, or you do not want to exercise your right to a lawyer and you want do it yourself." In response to that question, Guity stated, "I need a lawyer, your Honor." The circuit court responded, "[l]ook, I'm not going to play games, Mr. Guity." Nonetheless, the court agreed to allow him to represent himself with the assistance of stand-by appointed counsel. Yet the court's permission for Guity to represent himself was itself ambiguous, since the court closed the hearing by saying, "[i]f time is your problem, I'm denying your motion. Let's proceed."[4]
Three days later, on January 20, 2012, the circuit court heard Guity's oral motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. He argued the motion pro se, with court-appointed counsel operating as stand-by counsel. Guity argued, inter alia, that during the plea negotiations (and at the change of plea hearing) his private attorney had failed to explain to him the nature of the law, including the fact that he was pleading guilty to a crime he could not legally commit in the family court case. The circuit court denied Guity's motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. The court later sentenced him to a one-year term of imprisonment for the ...


text:
The blog of an easily distracted reader.
There is another world, but it is in this one.
Paul Eluard. Œuvres complètes, vol. 1, Gallimard, 1968.
Reading 'The Vanishing Hitchhiker' by Steve Duffy (2001)
Supernatural Tales 1 (2014)
With superb stories like "The Clay Party," "The Oram County Whoosit," and "The Vanishing Hitchhiker," Steve Duffy is slowly accumulating the secret history of the United States: the rationalizations and negative capabilities of those caught in the
carnage in the epoch of imperialist decay.
In "The Vanishing Hitchhiker," Duffy gives is Heward Durling, middle aged, in a wrecked marriage, with a son drafted and fighting in Vietnam.
....Heward H. Durling, Goodman-Brown Real Estate, N.Y.C., wife (1), child (1), mortgage (1), life (1), born into these sober-sided salesman's shoes, accustomed to somehow muddling along, one blunder to the next, gee-whizz, aw-heck, golly-gosh-amighty, honey. It's pure cartoonery, it really is, the stuff Hew gets up to: or perhaps it's the way we try to mask our bitterness, our fears, our sheer confusion, sometimes, behind what's more culturally acceptable – endearing, even.
You know that legendary half-assedness of the sitcom dad, all sloppy-joe and flopsy? Protective coloration; camouflage, for a generation of the beleaguered and bewildered, bears baited in a brash and shiny circus. Like Hew here: good-natured klutz, that's the stereotype behind which he hides – tripping over Rover and spilling his drink on the Boss come round for dinner, locked outside the hotel room with his pants still on the inside, catching a curve-ball slap in the puss when he throws a little backyard pickle with ol' Junior. That's Hew's cue. Just the sort of fella to screw up on something simple, like reading a map or following a road-sign: just the sort of guy to look around and all of a sudden find he's lost.
Duffy has the skill and audacity to out-write J. Updike and S. King.
Heward Durling, behind the sitcom dad facade, is multiply orphaned, can never find a home in this world. From childhood his memories are of endless days and nights in cars, and it is only in his car that he can tell his story, talking freely with a hippie hitchhiker as they go along the dark back roads of the Catskills, lost but seeking.
....We populate these roadsides with our ghosts, make up monsters for the boondocks: it's the way we feel about the absent, massive reach of the land, the vacancy, the space that nobody owns. We'll never get the range, not completely. We fly it in airplanes and trace its tiny prickling lights, we talk across it most nights on the telephone; we send letters and postcards, but we don't often stop there. We know we ought to be back home, before it gets too late, and that's why these stories can still hold us, why we're scared to look behind us, scared of what we'll find...
....the light it hurts our eyes to look into, that shows us what we've become.
Posted by Jay Rothermel at 4:24 AM
Labels: Steve Duffy
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A training centre built in a picturesque valley of the Jizera river which offers a number of model situations for work at height and above depth. POLYGON has a complete PPE equipment for afeguarding and operation of persons working at height, which the participant can borrow free of charge. In good weather, you can also use the adjacent outdoor area for practising work on power poles, tree climbing techniques or rescue from a footbridge over the river. POLYGON is part of the SINGING ROCK manufacturing factory and the trainees can therefore look at the production or be present at the product testing.
GPS coordinates: N 50.665424, E 15.450692 or N 50° 39' 55.53", E 15° 27' 2.49"