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BrokeAndBroker.com Blog: by Bill Singer Esq WEEK IN REVIEW
Sexism on Wall Street: New Chapter, Same Book (BrokeAndBroker.com Blog)
http://www.brokeandbroker.com/4427/sexism-wall-street/
Wall Street is no longer a quaint road between a church, on one end, and a river, on the other. It is a metaphor for the entire capitalist world. And that world, which we all live in, is populated with minorities and women. Try as Wall Street has for generations to marginalize those two groups, the fact is now inescapable. The securities markets in the United States are in a battle with international markets. If we don't re-tool our industry to include more minorities and women in meaningful roles, we will inevitably lose out to more enlightened competitors. The NYSE may well become a luxury residential condominium. FINRA may well become an off-shore gambling site. I can think of nothing more disgusting than to know that you are capable of doing a job but are denied employment solely based upon conditions of your birth.
GUEST BLOG: Gods Help Us, Every One by Aegis Frumento Esq
(BrokeAndBroker.com Blog)
http://www.brokeandbroker.com/4423/Aegis-Frumento-Trump/
Those of us who knew or knew of the Donald in the 80s and 90s formed a dim view of him even back then. Mine hasn't changed much; certainly not for the better. How Sarah Sanders and her evangelical cohorts came to view this classless con-man of a Manhattan dirt peddler as the anointed one of God is a mystery deeper than any I was ever made to ponder in my dozen years in Catholic schools.
The Errors on the Whited-Out Variable Annuity Form and FINRA's Fine and Suspension of a Supervisor
http://www.brokeandbroker.com/4425/FINRA-AWC-VA/
You've been there. You sent the customer a gazillion documents with yellow stickies as to where to sign and, sure enough, 99% of the gazillion documents were filled out properly, but a few came back with empty check boxes and missing current dates. Now what? The customer was agitated as it were with having to fill out everything and sign here, sign there, initial, initial here, sign there too, and, also, initial here too. You sure as hell don't want to bother the customer and risk having the whole transaction blow up and the account closed. After all, it's not like you forged any signatures. It's not like "Today's Date" isn't the same one that was properly filled out in numerous other places on the documents. It's not all that big a deal if you enter a check in the "YES, I AGREE" boxes given that the customer initialed assent notwithstanding failed to put a mark in the box. Then there's the supervisor or compliance officer who comes across the somewhat obvious and clumsy efforts of the stockbroker to fill in the blanks. Obvious because the after-the-fact revisions are clearly in different handwriting or there's white-out all over the place. Clumsy because the customer used blue ink and the idiot stockbroker had his assistant use black ink. At this point, some industry folks think it's about customer service and, you know, just do what ya gotta do, and, well, no-harm-no-foul, but, c'mon, keep your mouth shut and don't send any emails about it. At this same point, however, other industry folks recognize all the customer service issues but also realize that there are serious compliance and regulatory concerns that arise. There's customer service. And then there's compliance and regulation, which could lead to fines, suspension, or bars.
Abandoned Car Wreck of Public Customer FINRA Arbitration
http://www.brokeandbroker.com/4424/finra-arbitration-abandoned/
In today's featured public customer FINRA Arbitration, the public customer Claimant named 10, count 'em, 10 respondents but after some 6 respondents were removed from the case, well, the case looked like an abandoned car wreck on the side of the road. Most of the useful parts got stripped. No one came to claim it. And so it just sat there and rusted away.
Premature Withdrawal Ends In $445,000 Award Against Wells Fargo Rep
http://www.brokeandbroker.com/4417/FINRA-Arbitration-Withdrawal/
Wells Fargo Clearing Services sued a former associated person for just shy of $300,000 on a promissory note securing a so-called bonus loan. The former rep fought counterclaimed and filed his own separate lawsuit against the firm. At some point, the rep tried to withdraw without prejudice some of his claims, but the FINRA arbitrators nixed the attempt. Then the rep withdrew -- or tried to -- some of his claims with prejudice. Regardless, the case moved forward to verdict. Sometimes it's about the trip. Sometimes its about the destination. Sometimes it's about detours. In today's featured case, Wells Fargo gets to where it wanted to go, even if the route seems a bit off the chart.


The program now works over native iOS apps including Apple Mail, Calendar, and Contacts. "This allows iOS users to enroll in the program without having to adjust how they use Google services on their Apple devices," Google said in a blog post.
For the uninitiated, the Advanced Protection Program is Google's answer to stopping the most persistent hackers from accessing your account. It's specifically designed for "high-risk" users including journalists, election campaign staffers, and business leaders, but anyone can enroll.
As an added precaution, the Advanced Protection Program also denies third-party apps from connecting to your Google account. The company did this to prevent users from accidentally sharing access to their Google account with fake apps actually under the control of hackers. But the decision came at the cost of some convenience; to access your Gmail for instance, you could only do so through Google's official Gmail app and not through a third-party service like Apple Mail.
But with today's update, Advanced Protection users can now choose to allow Apple's native iOS applications to access your Gmail, Google Calendar, and contacts data, the company said.
"We'll continue to expand the list of trusted applications that can access Google data in the future," the tech giant added.


Come see sANTA in 2018 on Sunday, December 1st or Saturday, December 8th in 2019!
Skip the traffic going to the mall, fighting to find parking, and waiting in mile long line while your children (and you!) fast lose patience. Forget about your little ones becoming overwhelmed by all the noise and stimulation for one thirty second snapshot in which they might be scared and crying.
Instead, come join us for a peaceful and magical session in the studio where you'll spend actual face to face time with Santa and enjoy some holiday treats. You'll be the only ones in the studio with Santa and me, so there are no distractions and your child can approach Santa as they feel comfortable! We have lots of tricks up our sleeve to work with babies and children who are shy. The resulting images from our Santa sessions capture the wonder and magic of the Christmas season in a way that the mall experience just can't.
Are you worried your baby or child will be terrified and you won't end up with any images? Let us know ahead of time! All booked clients will receive a reminder email of their appointment date and time along with some tips and tricks to prepare for a smooth and successful session. We have our ways, and we have some alternative options for you too. While these sessions are for children only, if your little one is more comfortable in your arms, that's totally ok. The comfort and security of your little ones are the most important priority to us. Make sure you're photo ready just in case you need to jump in!
Santa is sweet, gentle, and kind, and has a twinkle in his eye. That's him pictured up there with this year's holiday background. And yep, his beard is the real deal!
Sign up with your email address to receive an alert when booking opens. Following us on Instagram (lilysophiaphotography) will also keep you in the loop!


text:
package models

import scalikejdbc.{WrappedResultSet, autoConstruct}
import skinny.orm.{Alias, SkinnyCRUDMapperWithId}

case class Account(id: Long, name: String, hash: Array[Byte], salt: Array[Byte], created: Long)

object Account extends SkinnyCRUDMapperWithId[Long, Account] {
  override def idToRawValue(id: Long): Any = id
  override def rawValueToId(value: Any): Long = value.toString.toLong

  override def defaultAlias: Alias[Account] = createAlias("a")

  override def extract(rs: WrappedResultSet, n: scalikejdbc.ResultName[Account]): Account = autoConstruct(rs, n)
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Lightning eMotors Delivers First All-Electric Motorcoach to ABC Companies, Receives Order for 200 Zero Emissions Vehicles
Press Releases LightningeMotors
ABC Companies, a premier provider to the transportation industry, places $45M order for 200 additional electric vehicles ranging from Class 3 Transit passenger wagons to motorcoaches.
The motorcoach platform is the 7th zero-emission platform developed and manufactured by Lightning eMotors
Deliveries of zero-emission vehicles and powertrains already underway
Business combination with GigCapital3, Inc. remains on track
LOVELAND, Colo., Jan. 6, 2021 – Lightning eMotors ("Lightning eMotors" or the "Company"), a leading provider of commercial electric vehicles for fleets, today announced a $45 million order for its zero-emission powertrain systems from Faribault, Minnesota-based motorcoach supplier ABC Companies. The first zero-emission motorcoach was delivered in December.
The order includes a mix of new vehicles manufactured by Lightning eMotors, as well as new zero-emission powertrain systems developed by Lightning eMotors to be upfit by ABC Companies into customers' previously operated vehicles.
Under the order and partnership, Lightning eMotors has trained ABC Companies personnel to install and service Lightning Electric powertrain systems. In addition to Class 8 motorcoaches, the order from ABC Companies includes Class 3 Lightning Electric Transit passenger vans, Class 4 Lightning Electric E-450 shuttle buses, Class 5 Lightning Electric F-550 shuttle buses, and Class 7 transit buses.
"The first motorcoach delivered has met the high expectations many of our customers have," said Roman Cornell, president and chief commercial officer of ABC Companies. "It has excellent power, over 200 miles of range on a charge, and Lightning's energy division can support installation of fast-charging systems that meet our customer's stringent requirements. This agreement demonstrates our commitment to work together with Lightning eMotors and sets our order plans for the next 24 months."
Electric motorcoaches to be offered by ABC Companies include both touring coach and high-capacity double-deck coaches.
"At 3,445 Newton-meters of torque (2,540 ft-lbs), the Lightning eMotors' electric motorcoaches are our most powerful and advanced powertrain to date," said Tim Reeser, chief executive officer of Lightning eMotors. "They have an 800-volt modular, liquid-cooled battery system with up to 640 kilowatt-hours of energy that provides roughly 200 miles of real-world range and can be charged fully in three hours via DC fast charging.
"The coach powertrain is our seventh commercial electric vehicle powertrain, developed on our modular, proprietary software, and hardware platform," Reeser added. "With more than 500 components, and a multitude of custom-built systems including intricate wiring harnesses, DC fast charging systems, control software, framework, and several of the high voltage HVAC components, we developed the powertrain in less than a year, proving the value of our accelerated building-block platform."
Despite the complexity, the powertrain is designed to be quickly installed by trained ABC technicians at their facilities throughout North America.
The partnership with Lightning eMotors was formed after ABC Companies conducted a global search for a powertrain provider with the scope, scale, experience, and expertise to provide zero-emission vehicles and offer charging solutions for large corporate and municipal customers. ABC also liked that Lightning eMotors would be able to develop custom zero-emission repower kits for a variety of customers and vehicle applications, Cornell said.
"Many of our large corporate and university campus customers are making plans to go all-electric as they ramp back up, so we are excited to be able to immediately offer both new electric buses and zero-emission repower solutions through our Diesel-to-Electric Repower Program," Cornell added.
The repower program is launching under ABC Companies' SVT (Specialty Vehicles and Technologies) division, underscoring the company's focus on lowering EV market cost-of-entry barriers for coach operators.
In addition to providing a full range of zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) repower options for motorcoaches, ABC also will be an authorized nationwide service center and distributor for new and repower options for Lightning eMotors' popular shuttle vans and cutaway applications, such as the Lightning Electric Transit passenger van and Lightning Electric E-450 and F-550 shuttle buses. "Many of our customers utilize these vans and shuttle buses for various short distance routes, such as airport runs and hotel shuttles, as well as last-mile services for smaller groups," Reeser said. "These vehicles provide a very compelling total cost of ownership. And, as fleets target the vehicles and routes that they will electrify first, we need to be ready to meet those needs.
"The smoothness, the quietness, and the power of these electric motorcoaches is a game-changer for drivers, passengers, and operators" Reeser added. "We're providing a full range of powerful, cost-effective zero-emission vehicles, engineered to support each operator's sustainability goals."
Last month, Lightning eMotors and GigCapital3, Inc. ("GIK" or "GigCapital3") (NYSE: GIK), a special-purpose acquisition company, announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination. With GigCapital3's initial filing of a Form S-3 combined proxy statement/prospectus on Dec. 31, 2020, Lightning eMotors' pending business combination with GigCapital3 remains on track for an expected closing in the first quarter of 2021, subject to the approval of the stockholders of GigCapital3 and Lightning eMotors and other conditions to closing. Upon closing of the business combination, the combined operating company will be named Lightning eMotors and will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ["ZEV"].
About ABC Companies
ABC Companies is a leading provider to the transportation industry with diverse product and service offerings that cover a full spectrum of operational needs including new and pre-owned full-size highway coach equipment along with transit and specialty vehicles including battery electric vehicles. ABC supports customers with a comprehensive after sale service network for service and repairs, collision services, extensive OEM and quality aftermarket parts needs for transit, motorcoach and heavy-duty equipment from 10 strategically placed locations throughout the United States and Canada. Additionally, private and municipal financing and leasing options are available through the company's financial services group – one of the largest financial service providers within the industry. For more information, contact ABC Companies at 800-222-2875 or visit the company web site at https://www.abc-companies.com.
About Lightning eMotors
Lightning eMotors provides complete zero-emission-vehicle (ZEV) solutions for commercial fleets – from Class 3 cargo vans, passenger vans, and ambulances, to Class 4 shuttles buses and box trucks, to Class 6 work trucks, Class 7 city buses, and Class 8 motorcoaches. The Lightning eMotors team designs, engineers, customizes, and manufactures electric vehicles to support the wide array of fleet customer needs, with a full suite of telematics, analytics, and charging solutions to simplify the buying and ownership experience and maximize uptime and energy efficiency.
For more information, please visit https://lightningemotors.com and follow us at @LightningeMtrs on Twitter, Lightning eMotors on LinkedIn and @LightningeMotors on Instagram.
About GigCapital Global and GigCapital3, Inc.
GigCapital Global ("GigCapital") is a Private-to-Public Equity (PPE) technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) focused investment group led by an affiliated team of technology industry corporate executives and entrepreneurs, and TMT operational and strategic experts in the private and public markets, including substantial, success-proven M&A and IPO activities. The group deploys a unique Mentor-Investors™ methodology to partner with exceptional TMT companies, managed by dedicated and experienced entrepreneurs. The GigCapital Private-to-Public Equity (PPE) companies (also known as blank check companies or Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)) offer financial, operational and executive mentoring to U.S. and overseas private, and non-U.S. public companies, in order to accelerate their path from inception and as a privately-held entity into the growth-stage as a publicly traded company in the U.S. The partnership of GigCapital with these companies continues through an organic and roll-up strategy growth post the transition to a public company. GigCapital was launched in 2017 with the vision of becoming the lead franchise in incepting and developing TMT Private-to-Public Equity (PPE) companies. For more information, visit www.gigcapitalglobal.com or https://www.GigCapital3.com.
GigCapital3, Inc. (NYSE: GIK, GIK.U, and GIK.WS), is one of GigCapital's Private-to-Public Equity (PPE) companies.
"Private-to-Public Equity (PPE)" and "Mentor-Investor" are trademarks of GigFounders, LLC, used pursuant to agreement.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the business combination between GigCapital3 and Lightning eMotors and its closing, and the expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions, plans, prospects or strategies regarding the business combination, the future business plans of the Lightning eMotors and GigCapital3 management teams, and Lightning eMotors' revenue growth and financial performance, facilities, product expansion, services and product shipments and capabilities. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intends," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the management of GigCapital3 and/or Lightning eMotors in light of their respective experience and their perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments and their potential effects on Lightning eMotors and GigCapital3 as well as other factors they believe are appropriate in the circumstances. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Lightning eMotors or GigCapital3 will be those that the parties have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of the parties) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including that the GigCapital3 stockholders will approve the transaction, the ability of the post-combination company to meet the NYSE listing standards, product and service acceptance and that Lightning eMotors will have sufficient capital upon the approval of the transaction to operate as anticipated. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ are discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" and in other sections of GigCapital3's filings with the SEC, and in GigCapital3's current and periodic reports filed or furnished from time to time with the SEC. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof, based on information available to GigCapital3 and/or Lightning eMotors as of the date hereof, and GigCapital3 and Lightning eMotors assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
GigCapital3 filed a registration statement on Form S-4 (File No. 333-251862), which includes a prospectus with respect to Lightning eMotors' securities to be issued in connection with the business combination and a proxy statement with respect to GigCapital3's stockholder meeting to vote on the business sombination (as amended, the "GigCapital3 proxy statement/prospectus"), with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Lightning eMotors and GigCapital3 urge investors and other interested persons to read the GigCapital3 proxy statement/prospectus, as well as other documents filed with the SEC, because these documents will contain important information about the business combination. The GigCapital3 proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials for the business combination will be mailed to stockholders of GigCapitl3 as of the record date established for voting on the business combination.
Stockholders may also obtain a copy of the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus as well as other documents filed with the SEC by GigCapital3, without charge, at the SEC's website located at www.sec.gov or by directing a request to Brad Weightman, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, GigCapital3, Inc., 1731 Embarcadero Rd., Suite 200, Palo Alto, CA 94303, or by telephone at (650) 276-7040.
Participants in the Solicitation
Lightning eMotors, GigCapital3 and their respective directors and executive officers and other persons may be deemed to be participants in the solicitations of proxies from GigCapital3's stockholders in respect of the proposed business combination and related transactions. Information regarding GigCapital3's directors and executive officers is available in its final prospectus filed with the SEC under Rule 424(b)(4) on May 15, 2020. Additional information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests will be contained in the preliminary and definitive proxy statements/prospectus related to the proposed business combination and related transactions when it becomes available, and which can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above.
No Offer or Solicitation
This communication shall neither constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which the offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
SOURCE: Lightning eMotors
DHL Express Deploys Nearly 100 New Lightning Electric Delivery Vans in U.S.
Proterra battery technology to power Lightning eMotors Electric Transit commercial van
Lightning eMotors Appoints New Chief Procurement Officer

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Fukui Governor Castigates NRA Chairman over Slow Examinations
Kei Yamada
On June 18, Chairman Toyoshi Fuketa of Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) exchanged views in Tokyo with Governor Issei Nishikawa of Fukui Prefecture. The meeting was scheduled as an opportunity for the NRA to hear the wishes of the local municipality prior to the start of decommissioning of the prototype fast breeder reactor (FBR) Monju in Fukui Prefecture.
Governor Nishikawa, however, used the meeting to voice his dissatisfaction with such matters as the examinations that NRA conducts before restarting nuclear power plants (NPPs). "The examination process does not take time into consideration," he said. "Delays in the examinations have adversely affected local municipalities' abilities to take economic and employment measures, which troubles us extremely. The examinations focus on documents in Tokyo, far from the actual sites."
Currently, various municipalities in Japan are starting to require power companies to obtain consent from additional parties before restarting NPPs—that is, bringing in other municipalities in addition to the siting areas themselves. The governor called the arguments in favor of doing so "superficial," adding that those additional parties "could not understand the actual conditions of the communities hosting the NPPs."
Fuketa acknowledged that there were issues related to the NRA's examinations, but argued that it was very important "not only for the industry but for the regulatory authority to secure good human resources," implying that merely increasing the number of personnel so as to expedite the examinations was not enough. He also said that a common understanding with operators was necessary for the examination process to proceed.
He went on to say that the NRA would treat operators as "grown-ups" and establish proper relationships with them, so that they might approach safety "on their own terms." It would not be desirable, he said, for operators to do only "what they are told" by the NRA, as that would be "quite dangerous for improving safety." He distinguished between examination-related matters and any sense of economy, showing the NRA's uncompromising stance on that question.
In March, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), which operates the FBR Monju, received the NRA's approval for its decommissioning plan, enabling it to start the work. In the latest session, the governor asked NRA as the regulatory authority to strengthen its surveillance of the site.
Given Monju's special nature and construction—its sodium coolant burns violently when exposed to air or water—its decommissioning is expected to be difficult. According to the plan, spent fuel will begin to be removed next month (July 2018). The decommissioning process is then expected to take some thirty years after that, until FY47.
TAGS: local government, NRA
JAIF President's Comments on Permission to Make Changes at Shimane-2


Check out our VIP Prediction for Jagiellonia Bialystok vs Arka Gdynia!
Jagiellonia Bialystok and Arka Gdynia will be face to face this Friday in Ekstraklasa at 19:30 so try not to miss it.
Jagiellonia Bialystok is ranked on the 2nd place in the standings with 56 points, 55 goals scored and 31 goals received in the last 29 leagueevents. They have failed to win 7 of their last 29 matches in Ekstraklasa.In their last match they won against Piast Gliwice. Jagiellonia Bialystok is in a good form before this game with Arka Gdynia.
The attacking skills of Jagiellonia Bialystok are ordinary, they won 2events from the last 5 played.
Arka Gdynia are ranked on the 14th place in the standings with 31 points, 36 goals scored and 48 goals received this season in Ekstraklasa.In their last match they draw against Wisla Plock. Arka Gdynia lost 3 of their last 5 matches before this event with Jagiellonia Bialystok.
The attacking skills of Arka Gdynia are very bad, they couldn't win at least one game from the last 5 they played. Their attack is in a very bad shape right now and we don't think they will be able to score in this event against Jagiellonia Bialystok.
On this page you can find our predictions & bettings tips for the match between Jagiellonia Bialystok and Arka Gdynia. Our predictions for Jagiellonia Bialystok vs Arka Gdynia are based on a large number of factors such as direct meetings, Jagiellonia Bialystok last matches, Arka Gdynia last matches, Jagiellonia Bialystok lineup, Arka Gdynia lineup, standings, insider informations and so on. By visiting our website daily you will increase your winning chances. All the predictions posted here have a huge rate of success!


The property value estimation graph for 212 Stonebridge Dr is based on Markham 365-day running median for 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom detached house properties and adjusted for sold comparables in the area. This estimate does not reflect recent home improvements that may have been done to this property.
Opinion of value of 212 Stonebridge Dr is based on market trends for Berczy community of Markham community and recent sales in the area. The sold statistics information is provided by Toronto Real Estate Board (Reference: Competition Bureau vs. TREB in Supreme Court of Canada - August 2018; TREB has lost the case and is now mandated to provide sold data to the public).
212 Stonebridge Dr is a 4-bedroom 3-washroom detached house located in Berczy community of Markham. It is currently NOT FOR SALE, but is worth in our opinion around $1,445,043.
The property is situated on a 42' frontage by 89' deep lot. 212 Stonebridge Dr is currently not for sale and is not an active listing on Listing.ca.


When we got my Mum a PC a few years ago (Jane and I were still living in Inverness at the time) I looked around to decide on which Internet Service Provider (ISP) to choose for her. Those were the heady days of v.90 and v.92 dial-up modems and Pay As You Go accounts and there were so many options from which to choose. Broadband wasn't available and unless you wanted to pay extra for an ISDN line you were pretty much limited to the million-and-one 54kbps narrowband connections on offer.
Freenetname are now part of the Madasafish empire. I had one of their accounts for a while too. And then Christian Aid brought out their own ISP called Fish, which was later changed to Surefish (for some legal reason, I think). I had an account with them too: [email protected] was my catchy email address.
Whenever you dialled into Surefish part of the cost of the call was donated towards the work of Christian Aid. It was a good incentive to sign up: help out a Christian charity whenever you were surfing the web. So that's the ISP that I signed Mum up for. She was one of the last to get the @fish.co.uk email addresses before they moved to @surefish.co.uk.
In the last couple of months Surefish appears to have done some kind of deal with BT Wholesale who it looks like are taking over the running of the network. This means that new dialers need to be installed and new passwords, usernames and email addresses learned. Which is fine … so long as the instructions that are given are clear, concise and user-friendly.
I'm sorry to say that I've not found any of that to be true for Surefish — even before the take-over by BT. Their website is infuriatingly difficult to navigate. Simple things like finding your account information is hidden, and the most obvious navigation paths lead you to a form inviting you to sign up. It feels as though they want other people to sign up more than they want to support those users who have already signed up.
Then there are little things like the drop-down menus that don't work properly in Opera. Which means that if you accidentally move your pointer over the drop-downs you need to perform a page refresh (F5) before you can read on as once the drop-down menus have dropped down that's the way they remain.
I'm meeting Mum in Edinburgh this afternoon. On the phone this morning she said that she'd bring up a print-out of an email she received from Surefish recently. It is detailing the steps she needs to perform in order to make the change from the Surefish dial-up to the new BT one. So I looked up the information on their website.
Confused about a recent email from surefish? Your questions answered: Click here.
We will be publishing that information in the next few days on the surefish website.
Do they not realise that they already have published that information on the very same page? Does no one audit the content that they have? Is there no editorial workflow?
Mum is concerned about how to upgrade the dialer ("whatever that means"). Users shouldn't have to worry about these things — just given clear, unambiguous instructions on what to do, with the reassurance that their service will not be compromised and will in fact be enhanced by this important step.
Which one does Mum install? When run they do different things. Does she install them both, and if so which one? They are different file sizes so they are obviously not the same file with different names. And they both imply that they are setup or installation files. Is there a difference between setup and install?
This is a perfect example of usability at its very worst. Surefish might be the most "ethical ISP" but it most certainly isn't the most "usable ISP".
Just back in from an evening with the newly-formed Toft Terrace Friday Night Games Evening Collective — our inaugural meeting was over a lasagne and game of The Really Nasty Horse Racing Game last Friday.
This evening — after Jane and I managed to blag two bowls of home-made lasagne from our neighbours (and delicious it was too) — we played Trivial Pursuit 20th Anniversary Edition which was won by Team Chairs (Ian and Lisa), with Team Sofa (Iain and Jane) and Team Floor (Gareth and Yvonne) coming joint second.
Bits of pie / wedge / cheese were presented to each of teams upon successfully answering a "piece of pie" question by our local celebrity, Yvonne McKie (pronounced like Mackay), winner of the Anstruther Ladies Tennis Championships 2006. She has a cup to prove it. And everything™.
If you happen to get a chance to play the 20th Anniversary Edition watch out for the green questions. They read as though they were written by someone who'd been taking some kind of mind-altering substance, and simply wanted to record his stream-of-conscience.


2018 was a great year for CS:GO tournaments and from the looks of it, 2019 will be even better. The offseason was splendid, perhaps not in trade quantity, but it's the quality that matters!
However, all these changes mean us bettors will have a tougher time predicting teams' performances. But, I've done some digging and will try to do my take on the iBUYPOWER Masters IV picks.
More precisely, everything from match-winner, group winner, and outright winner bets. Yup, there's plenty of stuff to talk about!
But, before going into all that, we're going to check out the basic tournament info as well as the top CS:GO betting sites at the moment!
Why don't we start off with the latter?
Betting on CS:GO matches is now easier than ever. There is a plethora of esports bookies to choose from nowadays, but not all of them can provide you with a proper betting experience. That's why I've included a short list of my top picks. They're all known for featuring a great variety of CS:GO bets, including specials during bigger tournaments.
As you can see, there are both US and non-US esports betting sites. All of them are pretty similar in terms of quality, so it's best to thoroughly compare them before putting a ring on one. Payout speed, high betting odds, and great customer service are some of the things you'll find exceptional with them.
iBUYPOWER Masters IV picks can't be started off without properly knowing the tournament itself.
Basically, we're talking about a small "filler" tournament that's set to last for only two days. It stars on Saturday, Jan 19 and will feature a total of 13 matches. It consists of two phases, group stage and playoffs, meaning there will be plenty of turmoil to watch and enjoy.
Lastly, iBUYPOWER Masters IV is to be held at the marvelous AVALON Hollywood venue in Los Angeles. The stage is already set and I'm sure thousands of CS:GO fans are eagerly waiting for the first match to start.
For more information regarding the tournament itself, please visit our iBUYPOWER Masters IV Preview!
Now, get yourself ready for the main part of this article – iBUYPOWER Masters IV picks. We'll start off with the group stage match-winner bets and move our way to group winner and outright betting options. So, without further adue, let's dig right into it!
The following betting odds are courtesy of 10Bet!
CompLexity could snowball into a dark horse if they can grab a win against Astralis in the opening match. However, that's highly unlikely knowing the brilliance of the Great Danes. Still, not quite sure about the value of this bet since it's currently sitting at -900. In all honesty, I'd probably avoid it if I were you!
Armed with AdreN (their former player) as their new coach and Stewie2K as their new go-to fragger, Team Liquid has high hopes for 2019. Let me remind you – we are talking about the team that played in seven finals last year, but managed to secure just two wins.
Luminosity is no pushover, but I can't see them winning against this new Team Liquid lineup that's thirsty for more trophies.
With AdreN yet to play his first competitive match under FaZe colors, this is going to be a much more thrilling contest than most of you think. He'll need some time to adjust but I still believe his team will take the W against Ghost.
FaZe had a lot of bad results recently so I'm certain they'll want to improve their image in LA. They were all over the place in late 2018 so hopefully, early 2019 will show us their old might and prowess.
There are two more things to cover in this iBUYPOWER Masters IV picks article – group winner and outright winner betting. Let's was no time and head straight to them!
As far as group A winner goes, I just can't overlook Astralis. They are the dominant team at the moment and I doubt any of their opponents will cause too much trouble for the Danish side. Complexity, and (most likely) Fnatic, stand little to no chance if Astralis' players have a good day tomorrow!
Group B, on the other hand, will have a bit more drama to its story. As you all know, both Team Liquid and FaZe Clan have had a roster alteration in the offseason. AdreN and Stewie2K are the newcomers; it will be really interesting to see how they perform during the first few matches with their new teams.
That aside, if we assume both FaZe and Liquid will in the opening round of group B, the second-round match is set for a proper thriller. It can go either way, but I got a feeling Stewie2K will settle in TL much better than AdreN in FaZe… Yes, that means I give TL the upper hand as the winner of group B.
Here comes the most difficult part of this iBUYPOWER Masters IV Picks article – the outright betting predictions. As with all other tournaments featuring top-tier teams, this one is difficult to predict as well. There are basically four teams that stand out, at least from my point of view. Fnatic, Team Liquid, FaZe Clan and, of course, Astralis.
The latter is the most likely contestant to be victorious in LA. Their strength lies not only in their team cohesion but in individual brilliance as well. This, however, is reflected in the betting odds. Astralis to win outright sits at -200, a pretty small number if you ask me.
Astralis to win at -200!
For those who like to live a dangerous life, high-risk high-profit iBUYPOWER Masters IV picks ought to do the trick. In that case, I have to recommend Team Liquid. Even though Stewie2K will need a few matches to sync with his new team, I reckon he can be the man of the hour come the playoffs matches.
Team Liquid to win at +500!


Although another appeal is still pending before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and a ruling from that court could come at any time, yesterday's ruling means that the travel ban will remain blocked regardless of how that court rules. While U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions immediately stated that the administration will seek review by the Supreme Court, the 4th Circuit's decision means that things remain status quo for employers and their employees seeking entry into the U.S.
On January 27, 2017, President Trump signed a controversial executive order titled "Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Entry into the United States by Foreign Nationals," which created an immediate freeze on all entry for individuals from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq, and Sudan. Both immigrant and non-immigrant visa holders were impacted by the executive order. The EO also placed several constraints on the admission of refugees into the country and barred indefinitely the admission of Syrian refugees.
The first EO was challenged in federal court and, within a week, the Western District of Washington granted a nationwide temporary restraining order blocking the order from being enforced nationwide for a temporary period. On February 9, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the temporary injunction, concluding the executive order unconstitutionally interfered with the due process rights of a broad group of lawful permanent residents, aliens attempting to reenter the country after traveling abroad, refugees, and visa applicants.
At the 9th Circuit's invitation, Trump enacted a second executive order on March 6, 2017. EO-2, which was titled "Protesting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States," revoked and replaced the first EO and targeted six of the same Muslim-majority countries as the original order while excluding Iraq. Effective March 16, 2017, the new executive order aimed to create a 90-day freeze on entry for all individuals from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, and Sudan who are outside the U.S. on March 16, did not have a valid visa at 5:00 p.m. EST on January 27, 2017, and did not have a valid visa on March 16.
Six individuals and three organizations brought a federal lawsuit in Maryland attacking EO-2. The individuals claimed they had family members from the named countries who either could not gain visas to enter the U.S. in a timely manner or who would altogether be barred from entering the country. The combination of the separation from family members, along with the feelings of "disparagement and exclusion" brought about by the travel ban, led them to file suit. The pro-Muslim organizations argued they were forced to divert significant resources to dealing with the travel ban fallout, including financial injury from a reduced number of refugee cases they would handle.
On March 16, the district court granted the injunction blocking EO-2's travel ban from taking effect on a nationwide basis, on the same day that another federal court in Hawaii similarly blocked the second travel ban from going into effect. This current appeal followed.
The 10-judge majority of the 4th Circuit held that this evidence "creates a compelling case that EO-2's primary purpose is religious." The court stated that while it is often hard to find substantial evidence revealing the actual intent motivating an action that has been challenged as being bad faith, in this case, "we need not probe anyone's heart of hearts to discover the purpose of EO-2, for President Trump and his aides have explained it on numerous occasions and in no uncertain terms." For this reason, the injunction was upheld.
While the Court's decision is likely to produce a plethora of headlines and talking points, it does nothing to change the ability of people to travel from and into the United States. Once again, the status quo that we have lived with since the initial federal order blocking the first travel ban on February 3 will continue.
Given the judicial holdings, all U.S. land and air ports of entry are prohibited from enforcing the controversial travel ban portions contained in the first or second executive orders. All Customs and Border Protection (CBP) field offices will continue to inspect travelers under standard policies and procedures. All airlines and terminal operators should continue to permit boarding of all passengers without regard to their nationality.
The Department of Homeland Security will continue its standard inspections of travelers as normal. This includes the inspection and admission of people from the six listed countries and those in the U.S. refugee program. Similarly, the State Department has reinstated any visas that had been provisionally revoked upon the issuance of the initial executive order, and, assuming no other issues exist, they are currently valid for travel.
We continue to recommend that employers with affected employees outside the U.S. have such employees return to the U.S. as quickly as possible. The legal status of the court order could change at any time so immediate action is essential. If you have affected employees with visas still in their passports, their travel should not be impaired. Their visas should have been electronically reinstated. For those employees with visas that were physically revoked, we recommend working with legal counsel to determine whether these employees should apply for a new visa or return to the country and apply for an I-193 (Application for Waiver of Passport and/or Visa) visa waiver for prompt admission to the U.S. Absent any other admissibility issues, these individuals should receive an I-193 waiver upon arrival to the U.S. For those traveling by air, airlines have been instructed to contact CBP to receive authorization to permit boarding.
It remains near impossible to predict what will happen next. We can expect the Trump administration to follow through on its promise and appeal this decision to the Supreme Court, although whether the president is able to obtain a quick review remains to be seen. The Supreme Court will soon begin its annual summer recess by the end of June, and may not agree to entertain this appeal on such a short time frame.
Given the rapid changes in this area of the law, it is very important that your organization confers with legal counsel to ensure the current status and application of immigration laws and policies to your workforce. We will continue to monitor the status of all immigration-related executive order activity, including ongoing and future litigation, and publish updates as additional actions are taken, or information is provided, by the White House or the judicial system.


Think your company is far along in its digital transformation progress? If you're like many companies, you're probably kidding yourself.
According to recent data from San-Francisco based Altimeter, a Prophet company, too many businesses continue to take piecemeal, reactive approaches to digital transformation, latching on to isolated goals, departments or technologies without creating cohesive, organization-wide efforts. This marks the third time in as many reports that data uncovered companies overestimating their maturity level.
"A lot of digital transformation efforts I see today are all over the place," said Brian Solis, lead author of the report and principal analyst with Altimeter.
Companies emphasize the digital in digital transformation and they are looking at modernizing customer experiences; but a lot of this is done in isolation of one type or another, according to Solis.
He pointed to one of the report's findings as evidence: in spite of customer experience consistently topping digital transformation priorities, only 34.8 percent of companies reported having mapped out the customer journey in the last year, a significant drop from 54 percent the previous year.
Solis saw this trend as disturbing, "a lot of companies are making investments in digital transformation roadmaps in the name of customer experience without actually knowing their customers."
One of the factors going against digital transformation is its buzzword status.
According to the report, "Achieving buzzword status seems to be diluting the importance of digital transformation as a C-Suite imperative."
"The investment in and development of new technologies, mindsets and business and operational models to improve work and competitiveness and deliver new and relevant value for customers and employees in an ever-evolving digital economy."
The definition evolved from last year's report to include employee experience's role in digital transformation initiatives.
Who Should be Responsible for Digital Change?
Digital transformation was at one point considered an IT project. This year, it returned to those roots.
The report found CIOs supplanting CMOs as the leader of digital change efforts. Thirty-four percent of respondents in the 2016 identified CMOs as digital transformation leaders, while only 19 percent named CIOs. CIOs landed on top this year with 28.2 percent, while CMOs dropped down to 22.9 percent.
Solis categorized the shift as a mixed bag, "For advanced companies … I think there's good news in the CIO taking over leadership of digital transformation... I also think that there is still too great of an emphasis on the technology."
Technology clearly acts as an enabler of digital transformation, helping companies become more agile, responsive and able to test and learn. But the technology-only approach leaves out the more important cultural shifts required to ensure ongoing transformation efforts.
Ownership, therefore, doesn't really concern Solis. "It doesn't matter who owns it. Advanced companies realize it [requires] a cross-functional stakeholder group to take ownership of [digital transformation] — because it's everything — and [this group] reports directly up to the C-suite or to the board."
One change that is worth noting in the ownership category was the marked rise in Chief Digital Officers, named as leaders of digital change initiatives 8.1 percent of the time. This growth points to a larger trend: the parallel paths digital transformation initiatives and innovation initiatives travel.
While the report notes the two efforts still act independently from one another, they are however, increasingly intertwined.
Solis noted innovation suffered from a similar fate as digital transformation noting,"like in digital transformation, [companies] we're prioritizing cool startups and cool technologies, trying to plug into that expertise or those capabilities, but still without having the executive level or operational level of becoming innovative as a result. What I've observed is most companies think they're being innovative when they're really being iterative."
In both cases, the risk-averse nature of most businesses prevents them from committing to the scale of change necessary to prevent the efforts from becoming a one-off experiment.
"The operational models of most companies are designed to be risk averse," said Solis. "The idea of innovation was always about risk versus reward. And so it's this mindset within the organization that is its own inhibitor ... [this is] one of the reasons why it's so difficult to be customer-centric, because we're beholden to shareholders and stakeholders and quarter to quarter reports that all get in the way of making these bold moves."
According to the report, leading companies share a few common traits.
They encourage a culture of innovation.
The customer experience consistently tops the list of why organizations undertake digital transformation initiatives. But this year, Altimeter introduced employee experience as a critical driver as well. "The employee experience is a crucial, yet often overlooked, element of successful digital transformation."
While the debate will continue about the relationship between positive employee experience and positive customer experience, Solis points to company culture as the "number one inhibitor" of transformation (and innovation) efforts.
Once again, leading companies have already made efforts to improve employee experience, including creating training programs (62 percent), investing in new expertise and job creation (52.8 percent) and launching reverse-mentoring programs (35.6 percent).
The report predicts that need to improve employee experience will only grow in the coming years.
Businesses have an opportunity with digital transformation to move beyond just keeping up with the times to modernize their businesses and operational efficiencies to stay competitive.
Signs of progress are out there.
It's up to businesses to decide if digital transformation will become a "critical opportunity" or a "viable threat" for their business.
The report is available for download on the Altimeter site (registration required).


Deformation induced variations in dielectric properties of an elastic material is called electrostriction. This effect can be detected using capacitance measurements and employed for sensing shear and normal strains. Almost any solid dielectric can be used as a sensing medium, but electroactive polymeric composites present a unique advantage. A composite's structure can be locally micro-tailored and optimized for a given sensing application by exposing liquid polymeric suspensions to an electric field and curing the obtained structure. A single plane sensor configuration for shear and normal loads is analyzed. Such a design has no moving electrodes, can be implemented using surface micro-machining and supplied with on-chip electronics. Advantages of electroactive polymeric sensors include: intrinsic sensitivity to shear strain, robustness and flexibility, high tolerance to overloads, a large selection of candidate material for specific applications, simplicity in the manufacture, and operation and potential for miniaturization.


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Home News Sea Cadets host 75th Annual Ceremonial Review
Sea Cadets host 75th Annual Ceremonial Review
Meghan Wels
Reviewing Officer LCol James L'Heureux (right) presented Sea Cadet MS Eric McCracken (left) with the Lord Strathcona Medal to recognize his high performance in physical and military training.
The 140 Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Cayuga celebrated their 75th Annual Ceremonial Review at the Tommy Prince Drill Hall on Wednesday, June 7. The event is the most important part of their training year as it provides an opportunity for family, friends, community members and local dignitaries to come out and see what skills the cadets have been working on.
The cadets began the evening standing at attention as reviewing officer Lieutenant Colonel James L'Heureux individually inspected each member of the corps. Following the review, the cadets were recognized for their achievements during an award ceremony. Several local dignitaries participated in the ceremony, including representatives from the Town of Wainwright, the M.D. of Wainwright, Camp Wainwright and Wainwright RCMP.
140 Sea Cadet Corps Cayuga Commanding Officer Sub-Lieutenant Leah Jeckells says the ceremony is very meaningful to the corps, and each year they are thrilled to have the support of the community during the event.
"The annual cadet review is done at the end of every year and the cadets are awarded in what they've succeeded in the most, whether it's their leadership, marksmanship or fitness. There is a wide range of all the different awards that the cadet program can award," said SLt Jeckells.
"I absolutely love having everybody come out and support the kids. It just shows them that Wainwright does care about them… And of course our grandparents which is the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre. Lieutenant Colonel L'Heureux was our reviewing officer and of course we had Third Division here as well, so it's great."
LCol L'Heureux shared a few words with the cadets to bring the ceremony to a close, and he congratulated the corps on a job well done during their review.
"From what I've seen here today, the skills dedication and pride in how you – the cadets of Cayuga – presented yourselves, I can tell you're a highly professional group that has a lot to be proud of," said LCol L'Heureux.
"I want to congratulate the cayuga cadets on your high level of professionalism that you have demonstrated here today on your 75th Annual Review. Well done, and good luck in your continued service to the cadet corps and into the future."
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Meghan Wels is a reporter at the Wainwright Star EDGE, bringing news and local features to readers since the winter of 2015. You can reach Meghan at 780-870-2855 or meghan@starnews.ca.
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After hanging out with our friends in Phuket, Thailand for a few days they came to stay with us in Taipei. It's always fun to have friends come and visit and see our home away from home. We went to some of our favorite spots including Jesse's Farmhouse up in the mountains, People's restaurant and the top of Taipei 101.
Laura, Patti and Jim making their way up to the top of 101 the slow way.
Laura and Patti buying tickets to make the quick elevator ride to the top of 101. The elevator is a pressurized cabin that makes the 1000ft+ trip in 37 seconds, to make it the fastest elevator in the world.
There are about 8 million of us down there in the Taipei metro area.
Patti taking a sip of the fruit iced tea.
On the steps leading to People's restaurant.
Tastes like chewy chicken, but it's actually frog legs.
This time we got preferential parking treatment and left our F430 behind the glass. Actually it was just one of the cars the local Ferrari dealer was tantalizing us with.
Laura, you look beautiful, so stylish! I love your coat…I miss wearing warm clothes.
You mentioned Jessie's Farmhouse in the mountains. Do you have an address for that? A friend told us to go there, but I can't find it anywhere else besides on your page. HELP!


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2018-19 Women's Basketball Media Guide
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Selena Castillo
Content Development Specialist
Position: Content Development Specialist
Email: selena.castillo@duke.edu
Selena Castillo joined the Duke Athletics staff in October of 2017 and serves as the Content Development Specialist for the Duke women's basketball program. Castillo's responsibilities include working with staff to develop social media branding and an aesthetics plan for each season, create and execute creative video and graphic concepts, managing women's basketball social media accounts and producing recruiting videos and graphics.
Before coming to Duke, Castillo spent two years as a graphic designer at Tampa Bay Sports Commission (TBSC), a non-profit organization that seeks to create social and economic benefits to the Tampa Bay region by bidding on and hosting sporting and entertainment events. Through her work with TBSC, Castillo has been involved in events such as the 2015 NCAA Women's Final Four, 2016 NCAA Men's Frozen Four and the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship, as well as participated in the planning process for future events such as Super Bowl LV and the 2022 NCAA March Madness first and second rounds.
Concurrently with her time at Tampa Bay Sports Commission, Castillo gained creative design work experience while working with Event Development Institute, a full-service marketing and event agency that focuses on developing new and previously existing events all across the united states.
A 2014 graduate of Emory University, Castillo was a four-year letter winner for the Emory women's basketball team. She helped guide the Eagles to their first UAA Conference Championship in program history in 2012-13. Castillo graduated as the all-time Emory leader with 229 steals while her 83 and 80 theft campaigns in 2013-14 and 2012-13, respectively, marked the top two seasonal record places in program history.
A native of Tampa, Fla., Castillo graduated from Emory in 2014 with a bachelor of arts degree in Middle Eastern Studies and Arabic.
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Before George Clooney appears on the big screen in his upcoming films — the Coen Brothers' "Hail, Caesar!" (set for release in February 2016) and "Money Monster" from director Jodie Foster (April 2016) — his presence will first be felt as the producer of "Our Brand is Crisis" starring Sandra Bullock. The gripping political satire opens across the Philippines on Jan. 13, 2016.
"Our Brand is Crisis" takes a timely and satirical look at the high-stakes gamesmanship behind the scenes of a presidential campaign, seen through the eyes and actions of the strategists-for-hire who are pulling the strings. Bringing audiences into the belly of the beast with a fictional story as relevant as today's news cycle, it explores the often outrageous and unconscionable lengths to which some people will go in their competitive zeal to get the job done and cross the finish line ahead of the other guy.
In "Our Brand is Crisis," a Bolivian presidential candidate failing badly in the polls enlists the firepower of an elite American management team, led by the deeply damaged but still brilliant strategist "Calamity" Jane Bodine. In self-imposed retirement following a scandal that rocked her to her core, Jane is coaxed back into the game for the chance to beat her professional nemesis, the loathsome Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton), now coaching the opposition.
But as Candy zeroes in on every vulnerability – both on and off the campaign trail – Jane is plunged into a personal crisis as intense as the one her team exploits nationally to boost their numbers. "Our Brand is Crisis" reveals the cynical machinations and private battles of world-class political consultants for whom nothing is sacred and winning is all that matters.
Opening across the Philippines on Jan. 13, 2016, "Our Brand is Crisis" is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.


It became a viral hit. Like an epic novel, it painted a sweeping vision of the blossoming field of algebraic geometry. The topic would soon come to dominate research mathematics, and Grothendieck pointed the way.
The young Vladimir Voevodsky was desperate to read it. There was just one problem: it was in French, and Vladimir didn't speak French. So he did what any ordinary person would do.
He waited for the translation.
Kidding! Of course he didn't. Vladimir is not an ordinary person; he is a research mathematician. More than brainpower, I find researchers are defined by their singular drive, their obsessive passion. So Vladimir did what no ordinary person would do.
He began teaching himself French for the sake of reading a single text.
He succeeded. Before long, he was helping to pursue the path of research that Grothendieck had outlined. And in 2002 his work led to mathematics' most prestigious prize: the Fields Medal.
Learning a language for one book is crazy.
But sometimes, crazy is worth it.
Next Post Who Subsumes the Subsumers?
James Joyce is supposed to have learned Norwegian solely for the sake of reading (and corresponding with) Ibsen.
That is fascinating! Even though I find Ibsen depressing.
I don't find what Vladimir did crazy. That's very reasonable.
I knew a fellow who just sat down with a German-English dictionary and fulfilled the foreign language requirement for his PhD.
He said "well a third of the paper was numbers, a third of the paper was names of theorems, and a third was actual German, mostly words like "thus" and "it follows" and "that".
There is a potential parallel with Shinichi Mochizuki's proposed proof of ABC: reviewers need to learn a new language to understand it. When I last read about it, most were balking (though it has been a long time, so maybe that's changed?) For Voevodsky, the text he wanted to read was clearly of value and, anyway, there are a lot of other interesting things to read in French, so the decision wasn't really that hard.
Also, I'd submit that most high school students are asked to try something even harder: learn a language even though they have no planned or desired uses for the language.
This is an aspiring story.What a crazy man he was!Funny..
Lots of people have learned Hebrew basically to read one book.


text:
Benjamin Sales, son of Joseph Sales and Alice Sales
In the Parish of Hadlow, Kent
At St. Mary's Church in the Parish of Hadlow, Kent
Lydia Latter at St Mary's Parish Church in the Parish of Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
Marriages St Mary Lamberhurst
Joseph in the Parish of Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
Lamberhurst Parish Registers
Lydia in the Parish of Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
Mary in the Parish of Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
William in the Parish of Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
Elizabeth in the Parish of Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
George in the Parish of Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
Benjamin in the Parish of Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
Richard in the Parish of Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
before 30th May 1816
At St Mary's Parish Church in the Parish of Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
The ancestral pedigree of Benjamin Sales
Benjamin Sales m: April 1757 St Mary's Parish Church, Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex Lydia Latter
b: 1737 Hadlow, Kent
bur: 30th May 1816 St Mary's Parish Church, Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex b: c 1736
bur: 27th Dec 1802 St Mary's Parish Church, Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
Joseph Lydia Mary William Elizabeth George Benjamin Richard
b: 1759 Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
ch: 28th Oct 1759 St Mary's Parish Church, son of Benjamin Sales and Lydia Sales b: 1762 Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
ch: 11th Mar 1762 St Mary's Parish Church, daughter of Benjamin Sales and Lydia Sales b: 1764 Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
ch: 10th Jun 1764 St Mary's Parish Church, daughter of Benjamin Sales and Lydia Sales b: 1766 Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
ch: 5th Oct 1766 St Mary's Parish Church, son of Benjamin Sales and Lydia Sales b: 1770 Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
ch: 2nd Dec 1770 St Mary's Parish Church, daughter of Benjamin Sales and Lidia Sales b: 1771 Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
ch: 1st Dec 1771 St Mary's Parish Church, son of Benjamin Sales and Lydia Sales
d: 13th Jan 1850 Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex, aged 78 years
bur: after 13th Jan 1850 St Mary's Parish Church, Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex b: 1774 Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
ch: 20th Mar 1774 St Mary's Parish Church, son of Benjamin Sales and Lydia Sales b: 1777 Lamberhurst, Kent and Sussex
ch: 20th Apr 1777 St Mary's Parish Church, son of Benjamin Sales and Lydia Sales


In today's global economy, all economic indices are being regulated by the government; businesses that deal with a very competitive field are limited as to how much they can grow and how low they can make their prices. That is the norm. But many countries across the globe have taking the crucial steps to hands off or decrease state or federal government oversight of industries and business control; thus, the deregulation of key sectors of the economy. Characterized by repeal of laws that restrict trade and competition, deregulation is a major component of a capitalist model. Proponents of deregulation cite systemic economic benefits; industries may become more efficient in deregulated economies. These and many more benefits are what economists made us believe in deregulation. However, there could be other "blows" of deregulation to the Nigerian economy than the perceived benefits or theories about the benefits to be derived.
Although deregulation may not be seen as a new concept in the Nigerian economy, its widespread application in key sectors of the economy over the years had significantly improved the economy; Telecommunication, Banking, Media and Publicity sectors, among others, has attested to that. It is actually true that deregulation lowers barriers to entry in a given industry; and that when more firms enter an industry, competition increases and consumers have more choices for products and services, however, what wasn't made clear is the long run effect of deregulation. At the short run, deregulated industries provide cost savings to customers, individual businesses tend to decrease prices, company profits increase and cost savings can be passed on to customers to achieve a more competitive position in the market. How long would this strategy keep individual business in the market?
However, deregulation aids industry consolidation. For instance, the 2005 consolidation exercise in the banking sector allowing out-of-state holding companies and strong banks to acquire weaker-performing banks. The aftermath of this was a "reformed" and virile banking industry with recapitalised banks referred to as "Mega Banks". Even proponents recognize certain pitfalls of deregulation. For example, the post consolidation banking crisis that began in 2009 was in part caused by deregulation of banks in the early 2000. Laws allowing banks to sell exotic instruments, such as mortgage-backed securities, complicated the crisis when valuing those securities became excessively difficult. These conSOLUDOted banks had adopted accounting procedures of declaring paper profits and bubbling up their share price, unethical and non-performing loans, and a near absence of corporate governance. One is left in an immediate awe as to the gain of deregulation and consolidation of key sectors of the economy which serves as a deciding factor in growth and development.
The many hymns to deregulation usually describe the success stories that occur immediately after deregulation. This is always a period of price-slashing and better service as companies compete to attract more customers. But there is always more to the story, which often takes years to play out. The latter stages of deregulation feature generally look like this: there is a perpetual elimination of the weakest companies, even when only strong ones are left; during the heated competition phase, the name of the game is not prosperity, but survival; companies become desperate to cut costs wherever possible to maximize profits; consumer and worker safeguards are reduced or eliminated; environmental safeguards are reduced or eliminated; convenience and comfort are reduced or eliminated; wages are reduced; workers are laid off by the thousands; production and workloads are pushed to the limit, often at the risk of life and limb; entire markets – for example, rural areas – are dropped if they are deemed low-profit; in the final stages, a monopoly or oligopoly emerges, after which prices are raised, services dropped, quality reduced, and corruption and abuses of power become commonplace; workers from failed companies continue working in their fields by either joining the few surviving giants (usually at lower wages) or working alone (always at lower wages). In other words, a monopoly or oligopoly will dominate the market, but hundreds of nickel-and-dime operations may work around the edges.
The deregulation of the airline industry in the late 1970s in Europe clearly shows a worrisome state of business activities. After a brief period in which new airlines formed to compete for customers, there was a shake-out. To cut costs, airlines began paring back their maintenance and safety crews, which outraged the flying public. Since 1978, a dozen airlines have merged or gone out of business. Some 50,000 employees lost their jobs. Now that a few majors exist, air service is being dropped to 130 smaller communities, many others are served by only one airline, and air fares are climbing faster than the planes themselves. A near scenario is what is being experienced in the Nigerian air industry, with air safety at a near comatose, and fares at a geometric increase against service rendered. A consolidation of the airline industry accompanied by an Airline Deregulation Act could save operators and customers; this could allow the airline industry and its companies to gain more control over where they wanted to fly and how much they wanted to charge. This would foster creativity among the industry's competitors as they looked for bigger and better ways to outdo each other to increase their market shares. Consumers would of course benefit from this, as they now had a choice of more routes and destinations as well as lower fares – a win-win from their standpoint.
Having passed through various types of reforms in all sectors of the economy in the past, there is the dire need for Nigeria to consolidate the surviving economy through the establishment of strategic frameworks that would complement the deregulated economy; a vivid surf of the Nigerian telecommunication sector attest to rapid growth in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), with connectivity and accessibility in almost every part of the country could be a good idea. The deregulation of this sector showed a positive hymn for both producers and consumers. While telecom operators seek to capture a wide stake in the market, completion led to price slashing and a wider coverage witnessing a continuous downward movement of services tariffs and charges, in addition to increase in value added services. Although proponents still argue on the expected benefits to be derived from the telecom sector, its ability to meet the trends of today's global challenge in ICT had put it in a better position than the banking sector whose post consolidation audit exercise exposed a deep rot that could lead to a collapse of the Nigerian economy.
the privatised utility businesses in the UK. Nigeria had once introduced an equivalent policy – Price Control System – which was believed to have worked well for government and Nigerians. Though it came about with a Decree, rather than an Act, the Price Control System is an alternative to rate-of-return regulation, in which utility businesses are allowed to achieve a given rate of return (or rate of profit) on capital. In the UK, price capping has been known as "RPI-X". This takes the rate of inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index and subtracts expected efficiency savings X. A modified Price Capping in Nigeria's current economic trail could set a benchmark for a realistic economic transformation.
Consolidating an economy to achieve a sustainable economic growth does not come risk-free. Although our material progress can be measured in part by the growth of national output, income and spending, if the economy grows too quickly, it can bring about short and long-term problems. Economists and experts has stressed on the danger of demand-pull and cost-push inflation if demand grows faster than long run productive potential. High and rising inflation can be destabilizing for an economy because it puts pressure on interest rates to rise and can cause a loss of competitiveness for domestic businesses in international markets. More so, environmental impact could arise. Fast growth of production and consumption can create negative externalities such as increased noise and air pollution and road congestion. Environmental damage can have a negative effect on our quality of life and limits our sustainable rate of growth.
As a consequence to consolidating the economy towards growth, income and wealth may not be evenly distributed. We may witness a rise in real GDP, as promised by the CBN towards the end of the fiscal year, but also growing income and wealth inequality in society which is reflected in an increase in relative poverty may occur. Economists have the Gini coefficient to measure the inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth in different countries. The higher the value for the Gini co-efficient (the maximum value is 1), then greater the inequality. Countries such as Japan, Denmark and Sweden typically have very low values for the Gini coefficients; whereas African and South American countries have an enormous gulf between the incomes of the richest and the poorest elements of the population.
When deregulation works, there are numerous advantages – most of them to the consumer in the form of lower prices, more providers and better products. A company that was not doing so well and maintained only a small market share before deregulation would also be likely to benefit from this act. When the company faces fewer restrictions, it might be able to explore avenues that the government had previously not allowed or severely restricted. With less red tape, this company could theoretically emerge from deregulation much more successful than it was before. Conversely, a company that was doing quite well on its own despite government regulations would definitely see deregulation as a downside, as it will make the rules lax for its competitors. In essence, a successful company might view deregulation as a way of handicapping the competition, or allowing the competition to play by fewer rules in order to give it a fairer shot.
Deregulation is a hot-button issue for many governments and big businesses. This is because it is one of those issues where it seems that you cannot please everyone. Like anything else in life, when the rules are bent, it brings advantages to some who had a hard time being successful with the initial rules, while it may place a handicap on others who found a way to be successful despite these initial rules. Having gone through various stages of reforms and counter-reforms, a closer assessment of the economy however shows that deregulation only promotes competition in the early stages. In the latter stages it actually eliminates competition as rivals are driven out of business. Owners feel the need to cut every corner possible – and both workers and consumers pay the price. And what is the result of all this perpetual elimination of business rivals? A monopoly of course! Even though the nation had promised to ensure the application of impetus on its reform programmes that would transform the state of a deregulated economy into a global giant, the question that would still lingers in the minds of the many Nigerians living below the poverty line is: to what extent would the impact of such reforms play on the creation of more jobs, equal distribution of national income and wealth, as well as Medicare service?


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Q: Splunk submit button (submitButton) does not refresh dashboard if no inputs are changed I have a dashboard with a submit button (submitButton). The search isn't run until the button is pressed which is exactly what I want (the search takes a long time). I don't want the search starting as the user changes the other dropdowns (time), environment (Prod vs. QA), etc.
HOWEVER, sometimes it would be nice to hit the submit button and perform the search again without changing any of the other fields (time, environment, etc.).  In this case the submit button does nothing! I can tell the underlying data has changed via searches, but the dashboard is not updated. Simply changing any of the fields, doing a search, and then changing them back and searching again solves the problem, but surely the submit button should just work w/o this workaround?
Thanks

A: If "nothing" has changed, then Submit is supposed to "do nothing".
If you want to refresh the page with all the parameters as set, you should be able to click the URL bar and press return (so long as there are no hidden tokens, they'll all get set in the query portion of the URL).

A: Unfortunately, this is intended behavior.
I also wish that the submit button would rerun dashboard searches. I opened a post on Splunk ideas about this issue:
https://ideas.splunk.com/ideas/EID-I-739
If you have a splunk.com account, you can vote for this idea.

A: Each panel in the dashboard should (automatically) have a refresh button you can click to refresh the display without changing inputs.

A: I've browsed through Internet and  found some solution that with some modifications worked for me fine
<form>
..

       <a href="<<dasboardID>>?form.cust_str=$cust_str$&form.time.earliest=$time.earliest$&form.time.latest=$time.latest$&form.env=$env$&form.proj=$proj$" class="btn btn-primary">Refresh

...
<form/>

so basiclu im refreshing page with all of its attributes  and passing attributes values form current ones  chosen using tokens. splunk code didn't like & so replaced it with & and it worked fine. <> - can be found in your splunk page address.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Warning: The following contains light spoilers for episode 6 of Westworld.
If you're a big fan of HBO's Westworld and also have a near photographic memory of the 1973 film of the same name (looking at you, 20 people!) you may have caught a cool easter egg on Sunday's episode.
In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, a decommissioned host appeared during Bernard's search through the lower levels.
Here's a clip from the moment.
In case you aren't familiar with 1973's Westworld, the host Bernard's flashlight briefly touches looks exactly like Yul Brynner's broken killer robot character from that film.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jonathan Nolan spoke briefly about the cameo.
"It was a little tip of the hat. We didn't want to feature it too heavily, we don't want you reading too much into that," said Nolan.
So, nothing much to see here, just a cool tip of the hat for that huge, rabid 1973 Westworld fanbase.


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Ibrahimovic was close to sign with Swedish club Hammarby
Date: 18th September 2020 at 11:31am
Written by: Forza Italian Football Staff
The talismanic striker, Zlatan Ibramhimovic would have signed for Hammarby over AC Milan if it hadn't been for three unexpected factors according to the club's sporting director, Jesper Jansson. Appearing on the podcast Lundh in Sweden, Jansson claimed that if it hadn't been for the Coronovirus, the decision to hold games behind closed doors and Milan's late surge in the table then Zlatan would now be plying his trade in southern Stockholm.
The Swedish striker currently owns 23.5% of the Stockholm based club, a move that angered fans of his boyhood club Malmö FF, located in the country's third largest city. A bronze statue of Ibrahimovic was subsequently vandalized in Malmö in protest.
It appears that Ibrahimovic remains unfazed by the controversy choosing instead to train with the Stockholm club during the lockdown in Italy. The decision sent the rumour mill ablaze with reports that the striker who has played for Malmö, Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, PSG, Manchester United and LA Galaxy would join Hammarby. Now, according to the club there was some truth to these rumours.
Ibrahimovic has now signed for Milan until 2021 and will face Shamrock Rovers on Thursday in the Europa League on Thursday. The best online sportsbooks currently have Juventus as favourites to win Serie A.
AC Milan are currently competing in the Europa League with a fixture against Shamrock Rovers on Thursday. Arsenal remain favourites to win the Europa League with their North London rivals, Arsenal as second favourites, followed by AC Milan. Hammarby, the club Zlatan part owns, is also competing in the Europa League – in the unlikely event the two would meet, it is unlikely that Ibrahimovic would be allowed to play.


I've been busy making more deer antlers. This black pair is eleven points!
Who did these teeny horns belong to?
Some antlers are asymmetrical, with one developing points or length before the other.
If you like my deer antlers, you can buy them here. Think of how the ladies will talk the next time you show up at the grocery with a pair!


Olivia is on the admin. team for Made For More and is passionate about creating an honest environment amongst christian girls to freely discuss their walk with God.
Olivia talks about how we can learn from Mary's response to God's plans for her life.
Olivia talks about the importance of preparing our hearts for Easter and reflecting on why we celebrate this Sunday.
These muffins are honestly so delicious and perfect for any occasion. Lets get baking.
What is JOY? Olivia writes about where we can find JOY and how it can influence the way we live.


Increasing efficiency and minimising costs are essential to running a profitable business. Yet many small business owners waste countless hours on meetings that lack focus, run on too long, and pull staff away from more productive tasks.
Follow these seven tips to make your meetings more efficient and cost-effective.
Every meeting should have a clear objective, and a reason the meeting is needed (versus an email or informal conversation). Your meeting goal should be focused - see if you can state its purpose in five words or less. One study showed that a simple, brief statement outlining a meeting's objective can reduce meeting length by 17 minutes.
Outlining a meeting's discussion points in advance can keep everyone on track at the meeting. If it seems the discussion is veering off course, any attendee can point to the agenda as a reminder of your objectives. Distributing an agenda a few days in advance with supporting paperwork can help everyone arrive prepared.
The cost of including staff in meetings for which they have no stake in the outcome is costly. This infographic suggests the annual cost of wasted time in work meetings is approximately $37 billion in the US alone.
Consider including only those directly responsible for carrying out the tasks required in your discussion. You can ask your managers to pass on information to staff later.
Begin every meeting promptly, no matter what. Those who arrive on time will immediately start to feel restless if they have to wait for others. Schedule meetings for mid-afternoons on Tuesdays rather than 9:00 am on Monday. People need time to get back into gear after the weekend, and by Tuesday afternoon, they'll have had time to prepare for your meeting.
Perhaps business owners set meetings for 30 minutes or an hour out of habit, but the ideal meeting length is somewhere between 15 and 18 minutes. Any longer and attention spans wane and productivity drops. Follow your agenda and invite a timekeeper to help everyone stay focused. Your timekeeper can signal when the discussion is running too long, or time is nearly up. When the timer rings, make it clear the meeting is over.
Ask meeting attendees to turn their cell phones off, or better yet, leave them at their desks. Devices are an annoying distraction in meetings, and some people find it difficult to stop checking their phones for incoming texts and calls, even when set to silent. Ask staff to leave their laptops at their desks, too. Research shows that conceptual recall improves when we handwrite notes rather than type them. If a record of your meeting discussion is needed, appoint someone to take minutes.
If you've invited more than one or two people to a meeting, act as a facilitator, ensuring everyone gets a chance to contribute. Often one or two people do much of the talking in a meeting, but a meeting is most productive when shier personalities share in the discussion, too. Often introverts are highly creative thinkers, but they need encouragement to jump into a discussion.
A final point to consider when scheduling meetings is how long it takes staff to re-adjust to the day's workflow when they've been pulled away from their desks - additional support for the notion that meetings should be brief whenever possible, and only include those that absolutely need to be there.


First off, apologies for the recent lack of postings. The last month we have been having a lot of fun traveling and as a result, the blog has been a little neglected. A lot of content is coming your way soon!
After Malta, we spent seven days on the Italian Island of Sicily, splitting our time between the city of Catania on the Eastern side of the island, and Palermo, on the West.
For reasons that I won't go into on the blog, we completely screwed up booking our Airbnb in Catania so for the four nights that we were there, we stayed in two different apartments.
Also, keep in the mind the #1 thing to do in Catania is to visit Mt. Edna, which is the largest, active volcano in Italy. However, unless you want to go on a 4 hour hike (no thanks), the tour cost about $100/person and we're not exactly dripping in cash these days. So unfortunately, that was a big miss.
The best thing that we did in Catania was take the bus 40 minutes to Aci Trezza, which is a beautiful coastal town North of the city. It was very easy to reach by bus (although, it took us a while to figure out the bus system) and we had an awesome afternoon swimming and sunbathing near some really awesome rock formations that are rumored to be from Homer's Odyssey.
After four nights we took a train to the West Coast of Sicily to the capital city of Palermo. After a somewhat disappointing four days in Catania, we were excited for Sicily to redeem itself, and Palermo definitely helped. Palermo is a much bigger and cleaner city than Catania and seemed to have a lot more to see and do.
Palermo is a much bigger city than Catania and because it is the capital city, there seemed to be a lot more to see and do. One of the things that Palermo is best known for are their outdoor street markets. These three markets are HUGE and are anywhere from 20-50 blocks in length, selling just about anything you could think of.
Palermo is a beautiful city and definitely worth a visit if you're in the area, but you probably only need a day in the city itself. I can't stress enough that when you visit Sicily you should be at the beach.
While in Palermo, we did a day trip to Mondello Beach, which was about a 30 minute ride on the public bus. My biggest complaint about the beaches in Italy, is that 90% of the beach is covered with chairs and umbrellas that you obviously have to pay to sit on. I get that it's a business and it's how they make money, but it is still annoying that there was only about 20 feet of public beach from the end of the chair line to the water. Anyway, end rant. Mondello Beach was still beautiful and and awesome town to visit if you're looking for a beach day in Sicily.


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NASA Wants to Test New Moon Spacesuits on the Space Station in 2023
By Elizabeth Howell 24 September 2019
If NASA is ever going to send astronauts back to the moon by 2024, it's going to need new spacesuits for lunar exploration. But before astronauts ever don those suits on the moon, they'll test "walk" them on the International Space Station in 2023, according to the engineer backing the program.
NASA's Artemis moon program aims to land the first astronauts at the south pole of the moon in 2024, but the agency's current spacesuit design — called the Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or EMU — is designed for floating spacewalks (also known as extra-vehicular activities or EVAs), not clambering around a rocky, lunar surface.
NASA's in-house Advanced Space Suit Project is one of several spacesuit efforts the agency has pursued in recent years, to develop ways to explore deep space. In November 2016, according to a 2017 NASA Office of Inspector General report, the project centered its efforts on a new generation of EVA suit, now known as the xEMU. And so far, the agency is still holding to its timeline of testing the xEMU in orbit in 2023.
Related: The Evolution of the Spacesuit in Pictures
NASA is developing the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or xEMU, as a spacesuit for astronauts on the moon as part of the Artemis program. (Image credit: NASA)
"We've made a lot of progress and iterated on this design, so now we have a very mature system overall," NASA spacesuit engineer Lindsay Aitchison said Sept. 11 during the American Astronautical Society's Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama.
So far the xEMU has gone through more than 30 runs in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, the huge swimming pool astronauts use to train for spacewalks, Aitchison said.
The xEMU recently passed its preliminary design review, which is a major development stage showing that the baseline design appears to be operationally effective. Next up is design development testing, Aitchison added, followed by testing a full version of the suit on the ISS in 2023. Only if the spacesuit passes those orbital trials would it be used by astronauts on the lunar surface in 2024.
Years of testing
While the Trump administration only told NASA in March to land on the moon in 2024, the agency has been working on improving its exploration-class (or planetary surface-based) spacesuits for more than a decade. The iconic Apollo moon spacesuit of the 1960s was based on a design that is more than 50 years old, so today's engineers are looking to create something more flexible based on what we have learned about astronauts and human factors since then.
In 2017, the OIG criticized NASA for spreading its recent spacesuit development among multiple programs, resulting in $200 million spent but leaving the agency "years away from having a flight-ready spacesuit capable of replacing the EMU or suitable for use on future exploration missions." At the time, NASA said the report "is a fair assessment of the current state of Extravehicular Activity (EVA) systems", but said the OIG was "overly critical" of the data and products supplied to explain the Constellation Space Suit System contract, which was terminated some years after the George W. Bush-era Constellation moon-to-Mars program was canceled in 2010. NASA added that some of the CSSS deliverables "may be used to reduce risk for current International Space Station (ISS) EVA systems."
More Photos: NASA's Futuristic Z-2 Spacesuit Design in Pictures
Related: NASA's Z-2 Spacesuit: How It Works (Infographic)
Yet the agency appears to be using multiple spacesuit ideas to inform the design of its newer xEMU.
Aitchison mentioned various spacesuit designs that influenced xEMU, all the way back to the early 1990s. Among the spacesuits she cited were ILC Dover's Mark III — used in a NASA field testing program called Desert Research and Technology Studies or Desert RATS – and the more recent Z-1 spacesuit and Z-2 spacesuit prototypes that ILC Dover and NASA introduced in the last decade.
"NASA has actually been investing in a very methodical matter how we're going to do exploration spacesuit development," Aitchison said, including implementing "lessons learned" from the ISS program. Among the changes: the xEMU suit will have a smaller display unit on the front of the suit, making it easier to fit a wider range of NASA's astronaut population, Aitchison said.
Spacesuit needs
In March, NASA backed away from plans to run the first all-female spacewalk because there were not enough EMU spacesuits immediately available on the ISS, in the correct size, for the two scheduled astronauts to use. Modifying the Hard Upper Torso unit on the EMU for taller (or shorter) astronauts generally takes about 12 hours of work, so NASA elected to shuffle spacewalk assignments rather than take time away from experiments and more urgent repairs on the ISS. Following this situation, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine told the House science committee that future spacesuit designs would better accommodate the range of sizes the astronaut population requires.
Another consideration for xEMU is it will be able to run missions on the future Gateway space station at the moon, as well as for lunar exploration or for landing on Mars, Aitchison said. xEMU's design can be changed to accommodate different missions, she explained, by swapping out some components to keep the astronauts safe in these different environments.
As for ILC Dover, the company (along with Collins Aerospace) introduced an "Astro" suit in August that can be used for floating spacewalks, moon exploration or Mars exploration. The new suit system is aimed at both NASA and commercial space partners for future lunar and Martian exploration.
Astronauts Test Retro Spacesuit Tech for Mock Mars Missions Under the Sea
Scientists Test Mars Spacesuit By Climbing a Glacier in Iceland
This Next-Gen Spacesuit Could Protect Astronauts on the Moon and Mars
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
On This Day in Space! Jan. 16, 1969: 1st docking of 2 crewed spacecraft
Rocket Lab calls off microsatellite launch due to sensor issue
How to spot the Pleiades, Hyades and other star clusters in the winter night sky


Increased leverage with Karakoram's Active Joining Technology links allow the split skis to be compressed tighter while at the same time reducing the opening and closing force from you. Once joined the UltraClip fully constrains the seam of your splitboard to eliminate seam rattling, seam shearing, and seam rolling. The lever locks in the ski position as well to eliminate unwanted movement while in tour mode.