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Unruly airplane passengers disrupting peace in flights are increasing in number
"What we're really seeing is an increased level of hostility on the aircraft, which is something I don't think we've ever seen before in this industry."
The Federal Aviation Administration has received more than 3,400 reports of "unruly" passengers this year. Matej Kastelic
By Michael Laris and Lori Aratani, Washington Post
After consuming several beers and a couple of shots before takeoff, a miner started urinating near his seat on an Alaska Airlines flight, an FBI special agent recounted. Instructed to cover himself, he responded: "I have to pee."
Two weeks later, a shirtless musician with a history of mental illness tried to fling open an exit door during a flight to Los Angeles as five people fought to stop him. "He advised that he wanted to kill everyone, including himself, on the aircraft," another agent wrote.
Both men were arrested earlier this year in Denver, charged with the same broad federal crime: interference with flight crew members and attendants.
They were, in many ways, the exceptions.
The system for keeping peace in America's skies is creaking under the pressure of what airlines and regulators say is an unprecedented proliferation of misbehavior.
The Federal Aviation Administration has received more than 3,400 reports of "unruly" passengers this year. But despite launching a "zero-tolerance" enforcement policy in January — amid a rise in conflicts often tied to mask requirements in the air — the agency said that as of mid-July it had "completely closed" just seven cases.
The sprawling, multitiered system for enforcing regulations and federal laws covering passengers can take years to play out. As travel rebounds, that structure is being strained by confrontations fueled by alcohol, hostility to mask mandates and small conflicts that careen out of control. One passenger hit a woman holding an infant amid an apparent dispute over a window shade. Another ran through business class and stomped on a flight attendant's foot after the power outlet at her seat wouldn't charge her phone, according to court records.
The system involves airline employees, FAA inspectors and lawyers, Transportation Department judges, local authorities, state and federal courts, FBI agents and U.S. attorneys, who all have roles in a sometimes messy and protracted process.
Alcohol, drug use, and mental illness
The incidents that take place miles high in pressurized cabins are filled with many of the same pathologies and clashes that occur on the ground.
A review of federal cases by The Washington Post points to alcohol, drug use, and mental illness as key factors in outbursts that have terrified passengers and crew members, sometimes leaving them hospitalized. The tools for dealing with those problems in the air are more limited than on land.
Court records describe ad hoc policing teams made up of passengers recruited by flight attendants to help subdue rampaging fellow fliers using plastic handcuffs and seat belt straps. The records detail several instances of passengers trying to pry open doors on planes, leading to scenes of panic and violence.
"I am waiting for a signal," a distressed passenger declared on a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Los Angeles in October before lunging for the emergency door and smashing a flight attendant's head against it, causing a "ping pong ball sized hematoma" on her temple, federal prosecutors said.
After the third lunge, passengers and crew members zip-tied the man's ankles to a seat. His lawyer said he "was in an altered state of mind when he tried to exit a commercial aircraft mid-flight. . . . This activity was not violent and was not driven by anger towards any other person."
The flight attendant's injuries, after she "properly blocked him," were minor, the lawyer added. Authorities said that after the man's arrest, he choked a nurse at a Hawaii hospital until he lost consciousness. The passenger, in his early 30s, was detained for eight months and released to his parents with an order that he take medication pending a March trial.
Earlier this month, a woman tried to open an airplane door on a flight from Dallas, then bit a flight attendant, according to American Airlines. She was duct-taped to her seat. In May, a Southwest Airlines flight attendant had two teeth knocked out, allegedly by a passenger who refused to remain seated.
Aviation experts say cases of "air rage" are nothing new, but verbal attacks are turning physical more quickly.
"What we're really seeing is an increased level of hostility on the aircraft, which is something I don't think we've ever seen before in this industry," said Paul Hartshorn, spokesman for the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents American Airlines employees. "It's just incredibly dangerous."
'Pandemonium on planes'
Federal prosecutions in cases where "interference with flight crew members and attendants" is the lead charge were down sharply in the past decade following a rise after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a Post examination of federal prosecution data housed at Syracuse University, raising questions about resources and priorities.
For most of the 2000s, there were more than 50 such prosecutions annually, with case counts sometimes topping 70, according to data compiled by the university's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Over the past decade, that number has been in the teens and 20s each year, according to the research center, which built a vast database through decades of public records requests.
The Justice Department said prosecutions under the "interference" statute — by its count there were 20 in fiscal year 2019, 16 in 2020 and 14 through this month in 2021 — do not reflect the scope of its efforts because other charges are also used. At a Senate hearing in June, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department takes the recent onboard assaults "extremely seriously."
"Even if not intended to bring the plane down, you can imagine the kind of pandemonium on planes that we've seen in some of these videos that people have taken that can cause an incredibly dangerous accident," Garland said.
In a June letter to Garland, a consortium of airline industry and labor groups called on the Justice Department to "direct federal prosecutors to dedicate resources for egregious cases." It noted inconsistencies in which cases are prosecuted in different jurisdictions, and said more criminal prosecutions are needed. The department is reviewing the letter, an agency spokesman said.
In selecting which airborne cases to pursue, federal prosecutors said they weigh damage to victims, airlines and threats to public safety. Considerations include whether flights were diverted, lives were endangered, the quality of the evidence and a suspect's mental health status, federal prosecutors said.
In Congress, some lawmakers want the Justice Department to create a new "no-fly list" for passengers convicted of assault or who have paid civil penalties in such cases. Airlines, which have banned more than 2,700 customers for refusing to wear masks, don't share information about customers who cause problems. Someone barred by one carrier can simply book a flight on another airline.
The incidents can leave a lasting mark.
Delta Air Lines flight attendant Eunice DePinto was shoved after trying to pull a first-class passenger off the airplane door he was fighting to open on a 2017 flight from Seattle. A second flight attendant was punched in the face, prosecutors said. The raging passenger — and another customer who aided flight attendants — were smashed in the head with bottles of red wine during the struggle, according to court records. Airline employees said the pressure at high altitude would have kept the door from opening, but it could have opened as the plane descended.
"In the galley there were flying objects, toppled galley equipment, yelling, physical blows and blood," DePinto told a federal court in Washington state.
Six passengers eventually cuffed and subdued the Florida man, Joseph Hudek IV, who pleaded guilty to interfering with a flight crew and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Hudek was sentenced to two years in prison and barred from commercial flights until next year.
"My life is changed forever," the assaulted flight attendant told the court. "I am always aware of passengers — where they are and what they are doing at times — to the point of distrust."
Airlines have sought restitution from convicted passengers, although results have been mixed.
Hudek, whose consulting doctor said he had a psychotic episode after eating cannabis gummies, was ordered to pay restitution of $67,000, including $60,000 to Delta. As of January, a court report indicated he still owed the airline $59,000 and was making regular payments of $171.
A passenger on a 2019 flight from Las Vegas falsely told a flight attendant that a woman on the plane had a knife, prompting the pilot to make an emergency landing in Denver. He pleaded guilty to interfering with a flight crew and was sentenced to the nearly six months he had served. American Airlines asked a judge to order him to pay $32,800 in restitution. Among the costs cited by American: $6,119 for fuel, $13,623 for "passenger inconvenience," including vouchers, and $2,497 for "goodwill lost," according to court filings.
The Illinois man's lawyer said he earned $125 a week collecting scrap before his father's truck broke down and that he wouldn't be able to pay. The judge rejected the airline's request and ordered him to pay $100.
The FAA takes action
As flight attendants endured taunts and abuse last year over airline mask requirements, the FAA resisted calls to help with enforcement, reflecting the Trump administration's approach to the pandemic. But after increasing reports of conflicts and rowdy groups returning home from the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson ordered stricter enforcement to tame the behavior, marking the start of a more aggressive approach.
Over the past six months, the FAA has taken "much quicker and transparent [action] on this issue than we have seen in decades," said Taylor Garland, spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the nation's largest flight attendants union. "It's the first time flight attendants feel like there are real consequences on the ground for unruly behavior on our planes."
Still, the vast number of cases and messy mechanics of trying to ensure those consequences stick have, at times, overwhelmed the agency.
Part of the FAA's latest strategy to combat the rise in airplane incidents is to publicize large proposed penalties and promote a message of deterrence on social media. "You could have spent $35,000 on a brand new truck. But instead you are paying a fine because you punched a flight attendant," said one agency tweet.
The FAA said three-quarters of its 3,400 unruly passenger reports are related to a federal mask requirement on planes and public transportation, even though it often takes more than refusing to wear a mask for the FAA to take action.
Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, said that after more than a year grappling with the global pandemic, flight attendants' stress levels are high and passengers are on edge.
"People get on a plane and they're taking it out on each other, or most commonly, on the flight attendants," she said. "And what we're really seeing is that you're having like entire airplanes full of people who are aggressive rather than the one-off passenger."
Rick Domingo, who oversees onboard safety as executive director of the FAA's Flight Standards Service, echoed that sentiment.
"It used to be individual events," Domingo said during a recent FAA forum. Now, "it's group events. You have a number of people exhibiting that same behavior on aircraft."
As of July 13, the FAA had opened 555 investigations in unruly passenger cases — triple its total for all of last year. It has taken action against passengers in 80 cases.
That's just the beginning of a labyrinthine process written into FAA regulations, in which the agency sends a Notice of Proposed Civil Penalty. Passengers can try to demonstrate they did not violate FAA regulations; seek a shrunken penalty; or request an informal or formal hearing and an appeal.
While international aviation groups for years have noted concerns about passenger problems aboard aircraft, the recent U.S. surge appears to be an outlier.
In Canada, where passengers who refuse to comply with crew member instructions face fines up to $100,000 (about $80,000 in U.S. dollars) and as much as five years' imprisonment, the nation had recorded 14 reports of unruly passengers through May. In 2020, 73 incidents were reported.
"Canadian airlines have not seen a significant uptick in the number of passengers acting out on flights," said Frederica Dupuis, a spokeswoman for Transport Canada.
Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, a trade group that represents nearly 300 carriers worldwide, said "it's not completely isolated to the U.S., but it is predominantly a U.S. domestic issue that we're witnessing at the moment."
In addition to masks, alcohol has been a contributor to bad behavior. Some airlines aren't serving alcohol during the pandemic, so some passengers are drinking before boarding or bringing their own, which is against federal rules.
Of the 43 enforcement cases this year for which the FAA has made some details public, nearly one-third involved alcohol. About the same number involved alleged assaults. A flight had to be diverted from its original destination in eight cases.
Some aviation industry officials said there are early signs that the frequency of incidents could be falling, but it's too soon to know whether that signals a downward trend.
'One strike and you're out'
In the past, the FAA might rely on warning letters or counseling to deal with passenger misbehavior. But under its "zero-tolerance" policy toward passengers interfering with crew members, aviation safety inspectors are required to fill out investigative reports that could lead to sanctions.
"It's one strike and you're out," said Arjun Garg, a former chief counsel at the FAA who is a partner at law firm Hogan Lovells. "There's no more of just counseling an offending passenger about behaving better. They are immediately reaching for the hammer."
Behind the scenes, the agency is struggling to keep up with the barrage. FAA officials are seeking to better prioritize the torrent of reports coming from airlines and rushing to train personnel on the basics of building cases that can stand up to challenge. The investigative process can be slow.
"We have to collect evidence, do due diligence to prove our case," the FAA said in a statement. "This takes time."
An FAA document tracking potential cases shows that information provided by airline employees sometimes falls short, undercutting would-be investigations.
The FAA has issued public statements touting more than $680,000 in proposed penalties this year. But the agency has sometimes struggled to force passengers to pay more limited amounts in the past, raising questions about the success of its enforcement push.
The FAA is seeking $10,500 from a Southwest Airlines passenger who allegedly made a maskless phone call while the plane sat on a runway in February, then swore at flight attendants before being removed.
But in a case resolved in June, a D.C. man made a call one hour into a November 2018 flight to Minneapolis. The FAA sought a $5,000 penalty, but after pursuing the case for more than 18 months — and an appeal by the passenger to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit — the FAA agreed to settle for an undisclosed amount.
Following an unfavorable ruling by an administrative law judge last year, the FAA settled another case — a proposed $10,000 penalty for alleged abusive behavior on a 2009 flight from Miami — 10 years after the incident.
Other rulings and arguments made by the same judge, J.E. Sullivan, challenged the FAA's interpretation of what it means for someone to "interfere" with a flight crew. As one of a handful of judges in the Transportation Department's Office of Hearings, Sullivan provides interpretations that help shape how the FAA can enforce its rules, including its push to control unruly passengers.
In a case involving vaping on a plane, a passenger on a flight to Portland, Ore., set off a lavatory smoke alarm in 2019. The FAA charged the passenger with smoking — and also with violating a rule against interfering with a crew member performing their duties.
By putting on oxygen masks, making queries to gauge the threat and communicating with dispatchers over the incident, the flight crew was distracted from its regular safety preparations, an FAA lawyer argued. "We consider that an interference with their duties," the lawyer said.
Sullivan countered that "there's no interference," adding, "the activity that they engaged in is the activity that they're trained to engage in as part of their flight crew duties."
It's unclear whether mask-related cases working through the system could encounter similar issues. An internal FAA memo in February said persistent refusals to wear masks, requiring multiple instructions from a flight attendant, could be considered interference because of "the consequent distraction from safety-related duties." Sullivan declined to be interviewed.
Regulators have given little attention to some onboard safety concerns raised years ago.
Congress passed a law in October 2018 giving the FAA administrator one year to issue an order requiring the installation of a "secondary cockpit barrier" on new planes as added protection against would-be intruders. Nearly three years later, the FAA is still working on it.
The legislation was named after Capt. Victor Saracini, who was killed on United Airlines Flight 175, which terrorists crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. The barriers are meant to be installed between the cabin and cockpit door to block passengers from rushing in when the door is opened for food or restroom breaks.
Beyond addressing hijacking fears, a 2020 advisory report to the FAA noted that the barriers also could stop disturbed and impaired passengers. The Biden administration put the barriers on its "priority list for 2021," the FAA said.
On June 4, a passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles to Nashville, Tenn., allegedly rushed up and started pounding on the cockpit door, forcing the plane to divert to Albuquerque. He was charged in U.S. District Court for New Mexico with interfering with a member of a flight crew.
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A Knife Party Production
'Coalition of the Willing' is an animated film about an online war against global warming in a post-Copenhagen world. Learn more
< Watch The Film
Who Are The Coalition?
About The Release
Living Room Launches
Read The Script
Beyond Copenhagen
Swarm Politics
Open Source Culture
Choose a Collaborator below:
Adam Gault & Stefanie Augustine (1)
Andreas Gebhardt
Betterment Bureau (Loyalkaspar) (1)
Bran Dougherty-Johnson (1)
Cassiano Prado, Mario Sader & Ralph Pinel
Dave Baum (1)
Decoy (3)
Dom Del Torto
Dylan White & Andy Hague (1)
Echolab
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Thiago Maia (3)
World Leaders (1)
Yum Yum London (2)
'Idealised 60's' Production Process
By World Leaders | Published: Tuesday Jan 19th
For this section of the film I wanted to evoke the psychedelic 60's, but not fall into the common stereotyped portrayals and techniques. I needed something that looked like it might have come from that time, but also had a more contemporary quality. We drew inspiration from a number of sources from the 50's and 60's to achieve this goal. Simon and I were both very influenced by the work of Milton Glaser. I admire the seemingly effortless flowing quality of his illustrations, with colors and shapes billowing across the page. I particularly respond to his watercolor work with it's fine hand and texture.
The theme of this piece is the abandonment of the consumer culture of the 50's, so I referenced old advertisements from the 50's, with all their bright shiny opulence , materialism and canned optimism. The influence of this style can be seen in the opening train design and in the consumerist landscape that closes this section.
I knew I wanted a vibrant watercolor look to the piece, but hand painting a work on this scale would have been prohibitively time consuming. I spent about two weeks refining techniques that combined hand drawn elements with a level of computer refinements to achieve a very convincing digital watercolor application that could be animated. It was still time consuming to produce, but not nearly as involved as actually painting each frame with real watercolor paints. All the artwork was illustrated and rendered completely in the computer using digital tools. Nonetheless, it has a warm, natural feel.
The animation work itself was hand drawn on a computer with a Cintiq tablet using Photoshop, Flash and After Effects CS4. I took Simon's excellent storyboards and designed the characters and props using Photoshop.
These drawings were then brought into Flash for cleanup and animation. As with all of my animation work, it is a blend of styles, using traditional hand-drawn key frames mixed with motion graphics. The animated pieces were passed along to an assistant to add shadow layers and color. These files were then brought into After Effects for compositing, motion graphics, texture and effects.
Shadow pass (click for animation)
One of the most complex elements was the head-balloons with their psychedelic idea cascades. There is so much going on in this that it's hard to concentrate on any one thing, which was pretty much the intent. But I was a little disappointed that my animation of a flower growing, blooming, withering and dying, got lost in the cacophony.
The Balloon (click for animation)
Thanks to Simon for the opportunity to work on this exciting project.
-Michael Foran
© 2010 COTW.
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Эуген Ингебретсен (; ,  — , ) — норвежский гимнаст, призёр летних Олимпийских игр.

Сначала Ингебретсен вместе со своей командой победил на неофициальных Олимпийских играх 1906 в Афинах, однако полученные на соревнованиях награды не признаются Международным олимпийским комитетом, так как Игры прошли без его согласия.

На Играх 1908 в Лондоне Ингебретсен участвовал только в командном первенстве, в котором его сборная заняла второе место.

Через четыре года он выступал за норвежскую сборную на Олимпиаде 1912 в Стокгольме. В соревновании по шведской системе его команда заняла третье место.

Ссылки
 Эуген Ингебретсен на sports-reference.com

Персоналии по алфавиту
Серебряные призёры летних Олимпийских игр 1908 года
Бронзовые призёры летних Олимпийских игр 1912 года
Гимнасты Норвегии
Гимнасты на летних Олимпийских играх 1908 года
Гимнасты на летних Олимпийских играх 1912 года

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text:
The Morning After: Ticketmaster wants Congress to fix its bot problem
The CFO said its not Ticketmaster's fault.
Mat Smith
·Bureau Chief, UK
January 25, 2023, 7:15 AM ·3 min read
Kevin Mazur via Getty Images
In November, millions of Taylor Swift fans logged on to Ticketmaster to grab tickets for her 2023 tour. However, the site crashed, rendering verified users unable to purchase. Ticketmaster's parent company, Live Nation, explained that while 1.5 million people had signed up as legit customers, over 14 million hit the site when tickets went on sale – many of which were bots.
Live Nation president and CFO Joe Berchtold told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that the company "learned valuable lessons" from the Swift debacle. Three senators shoehorned in Taylor Swift quotes into their statements and questions – which I loved.
Berchtold called for Congress to expand the BOTS Act to "increase enforcement." Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal reminded Berchtold there are already legal options for going after scalpers using bots to procure tickets. "You have unlimited power to go to court," Blumenthal said. "Your approach seems to be that everyone else is responsible here."
– Mat Smith
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Amazon's RxPass offers Prime members generic medications for $5 a month
It has medications for 80 common health conditions.
Amazon has launched a new subscription service for customers in the US to get as many eligible medications as they need for $5 a month. The new service, called RxPass, is part of the e-commerce giant's Pharmacy business, which launched in 2020 as a two-day prescription drug delivery service. RxPass is a $5 add-on for Prime, which sets users back $139 a year or $15 a month in the US. Customers will need to pay $5 out of pocket, since the service does not take insurance, like Amazon Pharmacy does, for purchases outside of the program. People enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid and any other government healthcare program will not be able to sign up for RxPass, either.
'Forspoken' review: A magical world with several cracks
Fluid battles, uneven plot.
In Forspoken, you control the agile, angry Frey, slinging elemental attacks (and f-bombs) at multiple monsters before leaping off a cliff face and swinging from a molten outcrop. You keep moving, through the lands of Athia, through the adventure, because it's enjoyable and satisfying, but also because when you slow down, you start to see the cracks. Delayed twice, while the fighting system is generally solid, Forspoken has a lot of sub-quest padding, and most of it's pretty dull.
WhatsApp's native Mac app beta is now available to all
It's optimized to run fast and efficiently on Mac hardware.
Mac users now have a native version of WhatsApp. The new app is optimized for Mac hardware and built with Mac Catalyst, so it should be faster and more efficient than the current web-wrapped Electron version. You also get a new interface with three panels to easily flip between chats, calls, archived and starred messages, while seeing contacts and interactions at a glance.
4 groan-inducing times senators tried to use Taylor Swift lyrics to own Ticketmaster
Senators are investigating whether Ticketmaster's merger with LiveNation is a monopoly and broke out some cringey lines during the hearing.
All Of Taylor Swift's 'Lavender Haze' Music Video Easter Eggs, Explained
Taylor Swift released the music video for her Midnights song "Lavender Haze" on January 27, and it's full of easter eggs. Here, all of them explained.
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Tommy Dorfman recounts the 'dysphoria and shame' she felt as a male model: 'I kept having to be like, 'I'm not a man''
"I felt like the twink of the moment and I was capitalizing on it," said Dorfman, who medically transitioned in 2021.
Heads up: Dyson is having a secret sale — score vacuums, hair tools and more at a steep discount
Dyson registered owners can score items from the beloved brand at a 20% discount.


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The Bangor area has many exciting things to experience. The many museums, shops, theatres and night clubs in the area offer a wealth of interesting things to do and see. Explore walking and hiking trails and dozens of great lakes and ponds that offer some of the best canoeing, kayaking, waterskiing, and fishing. There is a wide range of accommodation to choose from.
Bangor is a centre from which many widely varied activities and attractions are within easy reach. In Bangor itself there is the Cathedral, the University Building and the Pier.
Penrhyn Castle displays splendid interior decoration, furniture and contains an important collection of old master paintings. The Castle is surrounded by spectacular views. The Industrial Railway Museum is well worth a visit.
For the more active there are walks on the Snowdonia range of hills ranging from the more leisurely stroll to the rock faces requiring the skills of the experienced mountaineer. For those venturing to the hills any effort will be handsomely rewarded by the magnificent views.
The Aber Falls descend from a height of 70 metres of which the last 40 metres is sheer overhang drop. A good view of the Menai Strait can be obtained from the top of the Marquis of Anglesey's Column in Llanfair PG. The Sea Zoo displays all the marine life to be found in the area.
Of historical interest the castles at Beaumaris, Caernarfon and Conwy provide insight into the way of life during the 13th and 14th centuries. The Welsh Slate Museum in Llanberis provides a fascinating insight into the slate industry and into a bygone way of life. Almost adjacent there is the more modern type of industrial development as displayed at the Dinorwic "Pumped Storage Power Station" which is well worth a visit. Also in Llanberis, there is the Llanberis Lake Railway along the side of Llyn Padarn and also the Snowdon Mountain Railway.
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Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by whitehot, Sep 27, 2007.
Hello, Im seen a red "car " light blinking under the radio next to the air bag warning light, can anyone tell me whats does the blinking light mean?
It's the engine immobilizer indicator. If it is blinking, your truck won't start.
The truck only starts for you because you have the proper key with the correct code embedded in it.
Are you talking about the car with the key in the middle or the other seatbelt light or the airbag. There are like three or four lights in that general area. One is the passenger seatbelt light(may only come on if someone is in the passenger seat). The other is the passenger air bag seat(it should say on or off) Besides that I have no clue what it could be. I just got mine about a month ago, so I'm still learning.
You are correct sir. I read it wrong.
It means your ejection seat is functioning properly.
Yeah, about 3 weeks ago mine deployed when I was driving in NYC. A Homeless guy came to my window and was about to wash it with a dirty rag and mine just went off. That really pisses me off! I mean does anyone know if Toyota has issues a TSB for this problem?
I can't have my automatic ejection seat going off whenever it wants to! This is a real hazard.
By the way guys, what's the little light on the lower left dash panel with the blinking hand grenade mean?
I don't have my manual in front of me so I can't be 100% sure but I am pretty sure that the blinking hand grenade means that you truck has armed the self destruct. Though I am sure that you'll be able to abort it with 3 tenths of a second left on the countdown like everyone else.
It means your mod info is incomplete.


In my heart I want to be a long distance hiker. I feel a tug that pulls on me with supernatural strength to be on the trail. It's not a yearning that stems from a lacking or because I need to find myself. It is simply a desire to be out in the woods as much as humanly possible. This is my first attempt at a long trail. Packed to the brim with 5-6 days of food, my brother-in-law, Doug and I started at Table Rock State Park with the intention of hiking 76 miles south to Oconee State Park.
The trail starts at Table Rock with a wonderful set of little creeks and waterfalls, a mere foreshadow of the coming terrain. The steepness begins at once and we started the 2200′ climb to Sassafrass Mountain. The first thing that became self-evident on the Foothills is the meticulous grooming and marking. It is virtually impossible to walk 10 feet and not see a freshly painted white blaze. At every steep portion where we thought we would have trouble on the trail, steps are placed for the hiker.
After a couple of miles we stopped at a small waterfall to drink some water. As I took in the scenery Doug began his journal of the trail experience. The switchbacks continued up the mountain going past impressive rock formations. At three and a half miles the trail summits a side of Pinnacle Mountain and we had stellar views of South Carolina. After a slight climb from the side of Pinnacle Mountain, the trail descends again and comes to beautiful rocks at Drawbar Cliffs.
The trail crosses several creeks and bridges and after several miles of very pleasant terrain, we started uphill. Doug and I purposefully planned on only hiking 8.6 miles the first day so the we could camp at the John L. Cantrell homestead site. The remnants of the settler's cabin are still present as is an old spring box, surely used by Mr. Cantrell himself. The biggest reason to stay at this site is the rock chairs that some industrious person or group built around a campfire ring. We also happened upon two really good guys on spring break from the University of South Carolina, Ben and Justin (Bernice and Justina) whom we shared some good laughs and a fire on the first night.
After finishing dinner, I climbed into my tent to read some Faulkner to the pitter patter of rain.


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Pa Salieu jailed for 33 months for "violent disorder" and weapon charge
Award-winning artist Pa Salieu has been sentenced today to two years and nine months in prison on charges of violent disorder and possessing a bottle as an offensive weapon, relating to his role in a mass brawl that took place outside a bar in Coventry in 2018.
The fight was said to have broken out after Salieu's friend Fidel Glasgow – grandson of The Specials singer Neville Staple – was stabbed to death aged 21.
Glasgow's murder is still being investigated, with West Midlands Police urging anyone with information to come forward.
Pa Salieu – full name Pa Salieu Gaye – was caught on CCTV using a tree branch to hit a man in a group attack that caused the victim to spend 10 days in hospital.
He was found guilty of possessing a bottle as an offensive weapon and told the court that he had smashed the bottle to defend himself.
The court heard, according to Coventry Live, that he was an "active and persistent participant" in the attack and "used significant physical violence".
The prosecutor says that he struck the man with a branch on several occasions, using "the weapon in the context of having used a bottle previously."
Eight other men have been convicted, reports the Coventry Telegraph.
Pa Salieu has two previous convictions for two offences, which include a suspended sentence for possessing a knife in 2015.
He was sentenced today, December 2, at Warwick Crown Court.
Judge Peter Cook told Salieu: "Anyone harbouring the view that you are a young man being hard done by should pause to reflect that despite having a conviction for carrying a knife three years earlier – which resulted in a suspended sentence – in the course of these events you used two bottles and a stick.
He added: "It was your intention to turn a bottle into a jagged weapon.
"What happened to Fidel could have happened to anyone in that melee."
[Via: Sky News]
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In China, It's Rickshaws, Cars, and Bullet Trains
by Bob McHugh on Friday, August 1st, 2014
The rush period, on a return trip from downtown on the Metro was surprisingly orderly and no different from SkyTrain on a busy hockey night, though far less boisterous…
"Rolex or Mao hat!" was the street hawker's sales cry, as our rickshaw sped past him through the narrow streets of old Beijing.
It could also be the question posed for an emerging super-nation struggling to blend new-world economics with a communist social order.
Our four-city, 15-day tour of China included many other interesting and modern forms of transportation. To start with, we were very impressed with the cleanliness of airports and train stations. Eating or drinking is not allowed on metro trains in Beijing and Hong Kong and another plus was having important signage in English, as well as Chinese.
China now has more than four billion kilometres of highways and expressways, for road users. Rail travel is inexpensive and popular, and carried more than two billion passengers last year. The high-speed rail line system is expanding rapidly and expected to reach 18,000 km of track by the end of 2015. Shanghai also boasts the world's first ultra high-speed maglev rail line.
In fact, the only old-world transport during this tour was that rickshaw, which could also be described as a pedi-cab. The only other rickshaws we saw were a few for sale at a closed "for hire" location near a ferry terminal in Hong Kong. The other city we visited was Xi'an, a famous fortress city at the Asian end of the historic "Silk Road". It's also the home of Terracotta Warriors, a UNESCO world heritage site.
Cars: China is the largest auto market in the world. More new vehicles are sold in China every year than in all of North America. While it has about a dozen major home auto manufacturers, most have production agreements with foreign auto makers.
Which explains why, for the most part, you'll see the same Volkswagens, Buicks, Hondas and Toyotas that you'll find on any street in Vancouver. How they're driven is different. Many drivers ignore crosswalk rules, so it's advisable to cross busy intersections with a group of fellow pedestrians, there's safety in numbers!
Our in-car experiences were mostly taxis and all were Toyota Crown models. In fact, in all four cities, it seemed like every taxi was a red and white Toyota … even in Hong Kong where they drive on the left side of the road, a British legacy. One memorable drive was a speedy, wild taxi ride to the Airport in Shanghai, a "kiss the ground" on arrival experience. Should have taken the train.
Trains: Out first train experience was in the Beijing Metro system and it's the fastest way of getting downtown. Even though there are vehicle restrictions that only allow odd and even license plates on alternative days, traffic congestion is a problem.
Beijing has the second longest subway system (in terms of track length) in the world (after Shanghai), but its average weekday ridership is over 10 million. During our week in the city, it actually recorded a world one-day ridership record of 11.24 million. By comparison, the weekday ridership on the SkyTrain system in Metro Vancouver is less than 400,000.
It's certainly a good idea to plan a Beijing metro trip in advance, but we found it surprisingly easy to navigate. The rush period, on a return trip from downtown on the Metro was surprisingly orderly and no different from Skytrain on a busy hockey night, though far less boisterous.
We made an early morning start in Beijing to catch a bullet train to Xi'an. This 1,144-kilometre trip use to take more than 11 hours, but a high-speed (over 300 km/hour) train can do it in less than five. Impressively smooth, relatively quiet and comfortable, it's a relaxed mode of travel and you can move around as much as you want. You don't fully appreciate the high rate of movement until another bullet train passes in the opposite direction – there's a sudden blur, whoosh and it's gone!
Maglev looks like a traditional train until you realize it uses magnetic levitation – no wheels! Powerful magnets provide both lift and forward thrust and it can reach speeds of more than 400 km/hour. Unlike friction-based (wheeled) rail, it's unaffected by snow, ice or rain.
The ride is also more cushioned ride than the bullet train. The track, which is about 30 km long, had banked corners and the trip took about ten minutes.
Last but certainly not least: A truly unique and relatively new transportation structure in Shanghai is the Pearl Loop Pathway. Above a massive roundabout in the heart of the financial district, this wide elevated circular pedestrian pathway has street-level escalators and connections to business towers and tourist attractions, including Shanghai's famous Oriental Pearl Tower.
A transforming giant with a rich history, China never ceased to amaze.
Contact: bob [dot] mchugh [at] drivewaybc [dot] ca
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Home » At the Multiplex » War Dogs
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War Dogs comes to us from four credited writers. One of them is Guy Lawson, who wrote the Rolling Stone article — and later the book — that detailed the real-life story this film is based on. Two of the other writers are Stephen Chiin and Jason Smilovic — the former hasn't had a credit since Another Day in Paradise twenty years ago, and the latter wrote Lucky Number Slevin somewhere in between an embarrassing list of short-lived TV shows.
The fourth writer, of course, is Todd Phillips. He's also the director and a producer. Yes, the man who brought us The Hangover and Old School is now presenting us with a story about war profiteers. Set against the modern-day Middle East wars, no less. On the one hand, it doesn't seem like this could be any more different from the stuff Phillips built his success on. Then again, after we got two Hangover sequels that were neither wanted nor asked for, maybe something different is what he needed.
The film is (VERY) loosely based on the real-life rise and fall of David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, two childhood best friends respectively immortalized by Miles Teller and Jonah Hill. David is a massage therapist who had a massive falling-out with his family, and he blew his life savings on a sales enterprise that went bust. He gets back in touch with Efraim, who's also on the outs with his family and is now making money by reselling guns and ammo purchased for cheap off of police auctions.
And then the two of them get into business by scanning defense contracts. To present a gross oversimplification of what's going on, legislative reforms dictate that anytime the military needs to purchase or sell something, they have to make the requests publicly available online. In theory, this means that anyone can sell their wares to Uncle Sam without favoritism toward any particular contractor (*coughHalliburtoncough*). In practice, of course, all the biggest and most lucrative contracts go to the most well-connected contractors anyway.
But here's the kicker: Not all of the contracts are huge. There are plenty of smaller supply requests out there, so small that the bigger contractors don't want to bother with them. To paraphrase how Efraim explains it, these aren't really slices of the pie so much as they're mere crumbs. But because we're talking about the Pentagon here, those "crumbs" are still worth thousands or even millions of dollars.
Thus David and Efraim found the company of AEY, Inc. (If you're wondering what the letters stand for, don't ask.) Together, the two of them work their way up from nothing to close increasingly lucrative deals with the Pentagon. All of this culminates in a $300 million deal that naturally goes awry in spectacular fashion.
If you've seen any other rags-to-riches crime dramas, you know pretty much exactly what you're getting. We start out with the hard-working and good-hearted kid who wants to be something greater (that would be David). We've got the mentor/partner who shows him so many ethically gray shortcuts to getting rich quick (Efraim, in this case). Cue the montage of party scenes, flashy cars, big houses, bottomless cocaine, etc. Go from there to our protagonist questioning what he's becoming, there's a massive event that threatens to undo everything, everyone goes to jail, and our protagonist starts over with a clean conscience. Oh, and let's not forget the character who serves as the protagonist's conscience — in this case, that's David's girlfriend (Iz, played by Ana de Armas), who quickly becomes pregnant and gives birth to their daughter as the film unfolds.
We've already seen this same kind of story plenty of times, just in the last few years (the comparisons to Wolf of Wall Street are especially easy, given Jonah Hill's involvement). But what really makes this film stand out is Todd Phillips.
Between this and The Hangover, Phillips has shown a remarkable talent for making smart movies about stupid characters. It's fascinating how he can craft characters who make for compelling protagonists in spite of or even perhaps because of how completely unlikeable they are. In this case, the two main characters of War Dogs are so much fun to watch precisely because they are the smartest idiots you could ever hope to meet.
This is a movie all about ego, in which two young schmucks are dealing with international politics, millions of dollars, and enough weaponry to literally invade a country, yet they're just barely smart enough and scrappy enough to convince everyone — themselves included — that they're totally in control and not the least bit in over their heads. As such, the humor in this film stems from the huge and dangerous stakes our main characters are playing for, in addition to their flamboyant and rude shows of self-importance and everybody else asking just who the fuck these two think they are.
Naturally, the most prominent case in point is Efraim. Hill plays the character as a greedy and immoral bastard who's nonetheless a born salesman because he's tremendously gifted at telling people what they want to hear. This is because Efraim is a pathological liar who can't be trusted to care for anybody except himself, and David takes way too long to figure that out. Moreover, Efraim seems to have a very particular view of what the world is, how it should be, and what he should be getting. And anything outside of that vision has to either be destroyed or disregarded. It's pretty much guaranteed that if Efraim doesn't get his way, he's going to lash out in such a way that he's going to try and break something. Or even seriously hurt someone.
Of course, a huge part of Hill's performance is in how he acts off of Miles Teller, and the two of them show phenomenal chemistry throughout. It helps tremendously that David himself is a bright young man with incredible drive who tends to get himself in way too deep over his head in spite of his good intentions and intelligence. After his previous roles in The Spectacular Now, Whiplash, and even the Fantastic Four remake that we've already agreed to pretend never happened, this kind of character has been quite thoroughly established as Teller's wheelhouse. And he plays it well, no doubt about that.
Elsewhere in the supporting cast, we've got Kevin Pollak as a dry cleaning mogul who invests some seed money into AEY. He's pretty much entirely wasted, I'm sorry to say. Bradley Cooper (also a producer) gets maybe five minutes of screen time, but he makes every second count. Cooper is quite clearly playing the man that David and Efraim only think they are, and he's more than cool enough to make it work. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Shaun Toub and JB Blanc, both of whom get small yet memorable roles as Middle Eastern characters. But by far the MVP of the supporting cast is Ana de Armas, who takes a regrettably flat character and does a surprisingly good job with the role. Here's hoping we see more of her soon.
So what we've got here is a film with a smart sense of comedy, able to portray our main characters in dangerous and morally grey situations and leverage that into comedy. The performances are all good, the chemistry between the two main characters is on point, and there are more than enough crazy moments to spice up the boilerplate structure. There's really nothing wrong with this film… save only for one major problem. And it's a doozy.
The characters in this film trade millions and millions of taxpayer dollars. Our protagonists are distributing supplies to prolong a massively unpopular war that David vocally despises. We see billions of American dollars that were confiscated from Saddam Hussein. Dozens of warehouses in Albania packed to the brim with weapons and ammo, all of which were left to rust when the Cold War ended. Hell, even when the film opens, David's voice-over tells us point-blank that all war is about economy.
All of this implies that there's some greater point to be made. Yet the film stops just short of making that point. Ultimately, the film has nothing new to say about war in general, our current Middle East wars in particular, or our relationship with guns.
There are plenty of things that try our characters' conscience, but they're pretty much entirely legal quandaries. Either that or David is worried about lying to his girlfriend. In all the many discussions about which laws or international treaties are being broken, nobody ever once talks about the lives that are at stake here. The characters are buying and selling weapons that could be used to kill hundreds of people and further prolong a war that's already the longest in our nation's history, and that point is never once refuted or addressed. Considering the subject matter of the film, that's a pretty big fucking blind spot.
Then again, if the characters are this vocal in their disregard for international law, I suppose their complete lack of respect for ethics and the value of human life could be considered a given.
War Dogs is definitely smarter than most comedies in the marketplace, and that counts for a lot. To wit, I'd rather watch this film two or three more times than see the trailer for Why Him? ever again. Unfortunately, there's a sense that the movie should have been a lot smarter. The subject matter is ripe for all sorts of timely and provocative statements about war, weaponry, international politics, and so on, plus the characters and filmmakers were all clearly more than intelligent enough to go there. Couple this with a regrettable lack of screen time for such sturdy talents as Kevin Pollak and Bradley Cooper, and there's a definite sense of untapped potential.
I'm not really sure how to recommend a film that's too intelligent to be a mindless comedy and too dumb to be a meaningful crime drama. All of that said, the film is definitely funny and well-acted enough that I can give it a recommendation. Might want to wait for home video, however.
Ana de Armas, Bradley Cooper, Jonah Hill, Kevin Pollak, Miles Teller, Shaun Toub, War Dogs


Tennessee coach Pat Summitt stands just two wins shy of reaching 1,000 career wins. It's an unheard of mark, one that UConn coach Auriemma compared to Cy Young's major league baseball record of 511 career wins.
With Sunday's 82-68 loss at then-No. 6 Auburn, the 56-year-old Summitt stands at 998-185 in her 35th season with the Lady Vols.
Tennessee hosts Mississippi Thursday and Summitt could reach the milestone against No. 2 Oklahoma in Oklahoma City Feb. 2.
Although Summitt, who averaged 28.9 wins in her first 34 seasons in Knoxville, and Auriemma have had their differences over the years, which eventually led Summitt to cancel the regular season series between the teams, Auriemma is impressed by Summitt's impending accomplishment.
Auriemma, 54, said that he's uncertain whether he will coach long enough to approach 1,000 wins. He entered Monday's game against No. 6 Louisville with a career record of 676-122 in his 24th season at UConn.
Auriemma averaged 28.6 wins in his first 23 seasons with the Huskies.
11 seasons to reach the magical number of 1,000.
FOUL PLAY: The Huskies led the nation in seven statistical categories Monday. The most obvious categories were scoring offense (87.4), field goal percentage (.529) and assists (22.1).
But the category that catches the eye is fouls. UConn led the nation with an average of 12.5 per game. It had committed 238 fouls through the first 19 games, with no player having fouled out.
that this is a smart team judging by the lack of fouls being called on the Huskies.
"I don't know if I would call us a smart team,'' Montgomery said.


There are many reasons people choose to visit the Everest region of Nepal. The Everest Three High Passes Trek is one of the classic treks there. Many trekkers make it their mission to cross the infamous 'high passes' in addition to reaching Everest Base Camp. Stunning and unparalleled mountain views, including the giants of Everest, Ama Dablam and Lhotse, can be seen. The passes are challenging, and offer an opportunity to acclimatise before reaching Base Camp and Kalapathar.
Culture is found in abundance and trekkers are sure to enjoy Sherpa hospitality and potato pancakes, as well as a landscape dotted with Buddhist stupas and colourful prayer-flags. The region enjoys a unique balance between remoteness and comfort. There are no roads in the area (unlike the Annapurna or Mustang regions), yet the accessible trails traversed regularly by porters and yaks ensure that even in the higher regions, you can still get eggs for breakfast every morning and hot showers on demand. The Everest Three High Passes trek is both challenging yet possible. There is no shortage of information about why the trek is one of the most popular treks in the Himalaya. However, I'm going to explain why you should buck the trend and consider doing the Three High Passes Trek 'backwards'.
The classic itinerary, the one you read about in most guidebooks, is anti-clockwise. Why? Touted as a 'challenging trek', it is thought to be somewhat easier to cross the passes anti-clockwise, as ascents tend to be slightly less steep that way around. Additionally, old habits die hard: there is now such a tradition of traversing anti-clockwise that few people seem to give much thought to completing it clockwise. When researching my itinerary I had also assumed that it must just be preferable to complete it clockwise. But some dedicated investigation both of literature and on the ground revealed the many merits of completing the circuit clockwise.
View of Gokyo Lake from the top of Renjo La Pass. Photo by Hannah Straw.
For most, the highlight of this trip is Everest Base Camp. Completing the Three High Passes Trek in a clockwise direction will mean that by the time you reach Gorakshep, the hopping-off point for Base Camp, you will have crossed two out of the three high passes. Therefore, you will be better acclimatised and more likely able to enjoy the stunning views at Kalapathar and Everest Base Camp. Additionally, if the 'goal' of your trek is Everest Base Camp, it can be difficult to muster the energy and enthusiasm to tackle two challenging 5000-plus-metre passes after you have achieved your main objective. Completing the trek in the clockwise direction means that each pass you accomplish puts you closer to your goal, both geographically and physically, as your blood thickens with oxygenated cells. The early-morning get up required to see the first shafts of light tickle Everest is much easier if you're better acclimatised.
Another consideration is the alternative perspective the clockwise trek gives to the classic Everest-region views. For instance, the classic anti-clockwise route would have you climbing Renjo La with the glistening Gokyo Lake behind you, and then a perfectly decent but hardly spectacular view down the valley to Lumde once you're over the pass. Turning the trek around, however, means you are rewarded with views of the main lake at Gokyo from the top of Renjo La. You can enjoy the descent all the way to your resting point in the village of Gokyo, as the lake's sparkling waters appear to widen as you get ever closer. As your first 'high pass' of the trek, this is a really unbeatable view, and a perfect reward for a challenging yet accessible climb from Lumde. From Gokyo, take a stroll to the nearby Scoundrel's Viewpoint for fantastic views of Everest, minus the crowds of Kalapathar. It's a very worthwhile activity for filling a 'rest day' in Gokyo village.
There is an important practical reason for doing the Three Passes Trek in a clockwise direction. The movement of the glacier near Lobuche has dismantled parts of the path to and from the Kongma La, and tracks that appear on GPS or paper maps can become outdated very quickly. Anti-clockwise trekkers will find themselves crossing the glacier late in the afternoon, after a tiring day of ascending and descending Kongma La from Chukkung. Crossing the glacier in dwindling light and being unsure where the path actually leads can increase the risk and difficulty of the section. We heard about a group requiring rescue near midnight during our trek. A clockwise trek, however, will have you crossing the glacier directly out of Lobuche early in the morning, when you are fresh and have daylight to spare for the best visibility. You could also see if any guides in Lobuche are available for a few hours in the morning to help you find your way over the glacier.
View of Everest from Scoundrel's Viewpoint, near Gokyo village. Photo by Hannah Straw.
Trekking clockwise and starting early, you should reach the top of Kongma La Pass by late morning. From the top, you will be greeted by majestic views of Ama Dablam, which will accompany you all the way to your resting point of Chukkung village. Taking the pass in the usual anti-clockwise direction, starting from Chukkung, would put these glorious views behind you. Don't forget to climb Chukkung Ri early morning after sleeping in Chukkung, for views that are almost as good as Kalapathar!
Many people skip the accessible visit to Ama Dablam Base Camp in their rush to reach the more famous Everest Base Camp. Following the clockwise route, you could consider adding Ama Dablam Base Camp as a side trip to your itinerary on your way out of the region, when you are more relaxed for time. It can be achieved in a morning from Pangboche: leave your bags at the lodge and return for lunch before continuing to Tengboche. Ama Dablam Base Camp as part of a clockwise High Passes Trek is your final 'big visit' and a lovely way to say goodbye to the Himalaya.
The final argument for the clockwise route is that you can beat the crowds from this direction, or at least, meet them head-on. The Everest region can get very busy during peak tourist seasons, and it can be frustrating to end up stuck behind a large tour group, trying to find space to overtake. Taking the High Passes route in a clockwise direction means you tend to encounter these large groups head-on, which makes passing them much easier. Also, by taking the route clockwise, you may often end up at your sleeping location before the main crowds arrive from the other direction, giving you a greater choice of lodges.
A clockwise version of the Three Passes Tre is better completed by those who are already reasonably acclimatised, otherwise the crossing of Renjo La (your first pass on the clockwise route) can be rather challenging. Alternatively, you can build into your itinerary a rest day in Namche Bazar, from which some excellent side trails with views of Everest could be explored. You could also break your walk to Lumde by overnighting at a lodge en route.
In Nepal, temples and stupas are usually circumambulated in a clockwise direction, so you can think of your clockwise trek as a 'kora', or a pilgrimage of this fascinating and beautiful region.
its amazing, i would go and feel the same as you are feeling. Its my dream to go once in whole life. Thanks for sharing good informative post.


In source data, you have user's information of mobile connection type and Id.You have four type of possible connection "POSTP, PREP, CLS, PEND" .But it is required to get Id of only those users whose connection type is in "POSTP, PREP, blank or null". If the blank is present in data then you have to mention connection type as "NA".
While processing data using Pig script you may come across a situation where you need to filter out unwanted records, which are either having insufficient information or business is not expecting that dataset into the final dataset.
Load the text file data in pig, use below command. Change the location as per your environment.
Check whether the file is loaded successfully or not.
Please find below screenshot for reference.
Step 2: Filter the record as per the requirement.
Here only those records which have connection type in "POSTP","PREP" and blank will come.Blank in a string can be meant to either null or empty string so contype='' is also written.
Let's visualize it using below command.
Here we have assigned "NA" values to blank contype.
If you compare above output with input, you would be able to see the difference that unwanted records are no longer present in the output.
The filter should be used as early as possible while writing pig script, which minimizes the number of unwanted records to be processed.


A Student's Guide: Where to rent in Canterbury?
If you're new to the area, or simply looking for a new student pad to rent next year, then now is the time to start looking. We've hand-picked some interesting and perhaps lesser known facts about each of the suburbs of Canterbury to help make your decision a little easier.
Hales Place – just a stone's throw from the University of Kent – is eponymous with a former stately home built in the mid 1700s, which was converted into a college in 1880 but then tragically demolished in the 1930s. The view from the road now known as the The Terrace, which was the former site of the house's original terrace, was said to command "a most beautiful view of the metropolitan city of Kent" and indeed the views around the parkland are just as stunning today. The Belvedere Chapel – officially the smallest in the world – and the burial ground still remain and can be found next to the Tenterden Drive layby.
If you prefer to be away from the hustle and bustle of the City Centre, you may like the suburb of Harbledown, which lies on the northwest side of Canterbury and is equidistant from the city's two universities (about half an hour walk to each). The village boasts a pretty high street lined with Georgian architecture and a rolling backdrop of fields and orchards.
Wincheap is situated on the southwest side of the city and is a 20-minute walk from Canterbury Christ Church University. Wincheap forms part of the main A28 which leads into the city, and is only a couple of minutes away from Canterbury East Railway Station (to the northeast) and a supermarket / retail park (to the southwest).
St Stephens is a beautiful area of Canterbury which is steeped in history. For those students studying history, archeology, or a similar subject, this is a fascinating place to live. Its original name was Hackington meaning 'amongst the thorns'. There are many historic landmarks in St Stephens including Glebe House (the former rectory), the stunning almshouses overlooking the green, Ye Olde Beverlie (the local pub which was formerly the home of the church warden), and of course the 12th century church which gives the area its current name. The Residents' Association of St Stephens openly welcomes students to be part of its lively community, and even has its own Facebook page to keep residents up to date on local news and events.
With a beautiful, vibrant cathedral city on your doorstep, what's not to love? Choosing a property here will mean you're only seconds away from the buzz of the shops – from all your favourite high-street chains to some more quirky outlets along the King's Mile – as well as the theatre, museums, or punts along the River Stour.
For more inspiration or to find out which properties are available to rent in Canterbury, call us on 01227 808534 or visit our property section at www.redlet.co.uk.


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Q: find multiple lines in Visual C++ 2008 Express Ed basically that's my question. Is it possible to find more than just one line in VS 2008? I would like to replace duplicate passages with a void function but sometimes there would be slight differences so it takes a lot of time to only find the same passages manually.

A: I don't understand your question correctly, so can you give an example what do you want to replace?
As far as I understand you want to replace strings matching specific rules. Well for that you can use regex, which is build into VS2008.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


All our courses aim to improve the linguistic aptitude of our participants in their professional lives.
Our many training solutions were created on the basis of our experience in dealing with companies. They can, of course, be adapted to the specific nature of your own company and its goals as well as to the needs of the participants.
Getting an effective language course up and running means correctly analysing the professional context in which the language needs to be used and the initial level of language which each learner has at his disposal.
The CLL Business teams have developed two highly effective language services to help training managers to plan programmes of language courses which help the company to reach its strategic objectives.
These training courses are tailor-made for your organisation. Whether we're talking about standard group courses, specialised group courses, individual courses or immersion courses, everything is designed to meet your needs in liaison with the training manager.
CLL Language Centres offer your colleagues programmes which have been specially analysed to meet the needs of active professionals who would like to follow a course outside of their company, giving them the chance to share what they are learning and their experience with other professionals.
These programmes include immersion courses, intensive courses in the morning or in the evening, training courses taking place before the working day begins or during the lunch hour, or courses based on a given professional topic area.
A personal coaching programme designed to help you reach the best level you can in your professional acitivities.
Held in your company or in a CLL Centre, these training sessions can be perfectly adapted to the language needs of each learner as well as his timetable and budget.
We can offer several exclusive programmes for very high quality residential immersion courses in English, held in Great Britain.
You want to optimise the time you devote to training courses but you're also conscious of the carbon footprint caused by your company's training programmes. This is why we have developed a set of professional solutions for individual distance learning.
Visiagora, a new innovative, online language teaching solution developed by CLL.
Telephone/Skype™ courses are organised in 30 minute sessions and are intended for people who want to make a rapid improvement to their oral communication skills.
Telephone/Skype™ courses + e-learning bring together progress in spoken language skills, thanks to telephone courses, with a more structured learning programme on the ALTISSIA® platform.
Individual blended learning – Group blended learning. 'Blended' training courses combine attendance based courses with a distance learning programme on our e-learning platform, helping you balance cost/time effectiveness in the best possible way.


Sixteen-year-old James Fisher lives at the far-off planet of Castor the place he toils for the ruling sessions as an indentured servant. He's a "Half-Adapt"—one of millions like him who have been shipped to Castor from Earth and biologically altered so that they might breathe the planet's surroundings unaided. As Earth fades in his reminiscence, James resigns himself to lifestyles lower than Castor's strict social hierarchy. yet then he meets his master's nephew, Vidal Centa, and their robust appeal for every different starts off to go beyond Castor's inflexible category stratums.
Encouraged by way of his buddy, Femi, to hitch the defiant Independence Society, which seeks to overthrow Castro's punishing oligarchy, James faces a tough selection. As his emotions for Vidal accentuate on a daily basis, he needs to combat with loving the younger guy who represents every little thing the Society hates and struggling with for justice. because the civil conflict threatens to erupt, James fears if he maintains to struggle he'll break his dating with Vidal, and maybe the whole planet.
"Into a dismal Frontier is reduce from an identical fabric because the better of Vince Flynn and Brad Thor. " —James RollinsIn the close to destiny, Africa collapses into an important failed country, leaving the continent lawless and critically depopulated. for many, the breakdown brings horror, yet for others—the outcast, the determined, the legal, and the insane—it permits unheard of chance: a brand new frontier of chance and limitless hazard.


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We begin by doing a followup on our impressions of the Nintendo 3DS.
Then, we take a look at Full House Poker on Xbox Live Arcade - the successor of the 1 vs. 100 gameplay model.
The GRAMMY Awards decided to do a major shakeup of their categories, eliminating some and redefining others...which help video games!
Stardock has sold their digital distribution service Impulse to GameStop - but not everybody is happy!
Then we take calls about Impulse and the new Sims expansion.
I apologize for the delay in getting this posted - I had some issues with my hearing and did not want to edit the show until I had proper use of my ears. Sorry for the delay!


Build an appropriate Instantiator for the given mapped entity.
Build an appropriate Getter for the given property.
Build an appropriate Setter for the given property.
Build an appropriate ProxyFactory for the given mapped entity.
mappedProperty - The property to be accessed via the built Getter.
mappedEntity - The entity information regarding the mapped entity owning this property.
mappedProperty - The property to be accessed via the built Setter.
mappingInfo - The mapping information regarding the mapped entity.
idGetter - The constructed Getter relating to the entity's id property.
idSetter - The constructed Setter relating to the entity's id property.
true if the entity class is instrumented; false otherwise.


The judging panel unanimously agreed that the winning work redefines the instrument in a visionary and entirely original way. They praised it for its virtuosity, depth of expression, and powerful imagination.
The judges praised the winning work � �fresh lyricism, lightness of touch and joy in melodic and rhythmic invention.� The panel�s decision was unanimous for a work which they hailed as that of a master.
The jury says that, from the outset, they were �intrigued and delighted by the sound world of the winning work.� In a large and diverse field, it stood out for the composer�s fine ear and excellent technique. Easily playable by amateurs, in the judges� view, it was nonetheless clearly a serious and effective concert work.
As you can see we have been rolling out some changes to the site design. Please bear with us while we tidy any last minute hitches. In the coming days we'll also be announcing some exciting new developments at C:T - stay tuned!
US composer Ted Hearne has won the 2009 Gaudeamus prize for his 'Katrina Ballads', performed on September 10, 2009 at the Conservatory of Amsterdam by `the ereprijs with Wim Boerman conducting. Hearne himself was vocal soloist in this piece.
This prize is � 4,550 and is meant for writing a new composition to be performed in the Gaudeamus Music Week 2010.
Boulez is one of the winners of this year's Kyoto Prize for �contributions to the scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment of mankind,� awarded annually by the Inamori Foundation in Japan. The foundation recognized Mr. Boulez for his contributions to the musical field of serialism, and for his �controlled chance� compositions and his work as director of IRCAM.
Highlights of the 2009 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (HCMF), which takes place from Friday, November 21 � Sunday, November 29, 2009, have been announced by the Festival�s Artistic Director, Graham McKenzie.
They include in-depth explorations of the work of two leading voices in European music � the British composer Jonathan Harvey and Portugal�s most celebrated living composer, Emmanuel Nunes.
The festival�s opening concert (Friday, November 21) is to be given by the renowned Arditti Quartet with the Hilliard Ensemble, and includes the UK premiere of Et Lux, a new requiem by the German composer Wolfgang Rihm.


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Gladwin, MI (48624)
Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 29F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph..
Partly cloudy skies. Low 21F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.
MidMichigan Health–Gladwin President Ray
Stover, presents the MVP award to Jo Sommers.
Jo Sommers named Medical Center's 2019 MVP of the Year
GLADWIN – Jo Sommers has been selected Most Valuable Person at MidMichigan Medical Center – Gladwin for 2019. Sommers is the administrative assistant and volunteer coordinator for the Medical Center in Gladwin. She was recently recognized for this achievement by Ray Stover, pictured, Medical Center president.
Sommers was well supported by her co-workers and the Medical Center volunteers for this recognition. Her co-workers say she is always willing to lend a helping hand whenever someone needs. Sommers is dedicated to the volunteers and is proud to keep them up to date on all Medical Center matters. She is friendly, approachable, and willing to help out all areas of the Medical Center to the best of her ability.
MidMichigan Health is a non-profit health system headquartered in Midland, Michigan, affiliated with Michigan Medicine, the health care division of the University of Michigan. MidMichigan Health covers a 23-county region with medical centers in Midland, Alpena, Alma, Clare, Gladwin, Mt. Pleasant and West Branch. In addition to its Medical Centers, MidMichigan Health also offers both home health care and physician services, and has a strong commitment to medical education. MidMichigan Physicians Group provides urgent care and medical offices in more than 30 specialties and subspecialties including cardiology, hematology/oncology, orthopedics, vascular surgery, family medicine and more. Currently, MidMichigan has more than 8,700 employees, volunteers, physicians and other personnel, and provided more than $90 million in community benefits in fiscal year 2019.
Living the American Dream: One man's journey to living out of a van
Beaverton Hall of Fame announces 2020 Inductees; Ceremony is Jan. 24
Boyce Hydro, Four Lakes Task Force sign Purchase Agreement
Beaverton City Hall relocation moving forward
A trailblazer for Gladwin women
Beaverton NHS November Member of the Month
Gladwin City reminds residents to clean sidewalks
Residents should be alert of scam using fake tax debt letters
Scholarship applications open through March 1
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Thursday 29th of September first year boys played against Ballyjamesduff on their home grounds. It was an unlucky day for St Aidan's but they played very well up until the last blow of the whistle.
The game started with a point two points to Ballyjamesduff, followed by a goal. Two wides by Ballyjamesduff were followed by a great goal for St Aidan's, scored by Shane Sexton.
Scores by Ballyjamesduff were followed by two points for St Aidan's scored by James McKay, followed by another point scored by Ben McIntyre which brought it to one point between the two teams.
This was followed by two goals and two points for Ballyjamesduff and two more points for St Aidan's. It was a tough half for St Aidan's, but just before half time a fantastic goal by Wesley Moore brought them back in the game.
The half time score being 3-6 to 2-4.
Another tough half for St Aidan's in the second half but they still managed to keep the scores up. Scores by Aaron Halton and a goal by Francis Quinn kept them in the game, but unfortunately the scores kept coming by Ballyjamesduff.
St Aidan's kept fighting to the end, but the final score 5-16 to Ballyjamesduff, 3-7 to St Aidan's.


A9 Raymond Weaver, What Ails Pegasus?
9. Weaver, Raymond. 'What Ails Pegasus?' Bookman (New York) 52 (1920): 57-66.
In review of Bynner's Canticle of Pan (BE3) Weaver draws general conclusions about the 'pernicious' influence of 'the Orient' in English poetry: 'Both the language and the poetry of China and Japan . . . are irreconcilably alien both to the genius of our speech and the traditions of our literature. Whereas English poetry—with Greek—is perhaps the greatest in the world, oriental poetry—and Japanese in particular—is superlatively narrow in its scope and resources, and is chiefly remarkable for its limitations.' Includes reference to Hearn (see D9), whose translation of Japanese poems 'degenerated . . . into a prose caricature of vers libre', and Noguchi (D15), who 'capitalized our hysterical avidity for foreign novelties, and an "oriental manner"'.


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Ceremonies / National Celebrations
DUBAI / 2012
41st UAE National Day
Produced by HQWS
The story of UAE for the first time protagonist of a theatrical performance
Broadcast live on TV and with an audience of over 2,500 at the event, this celebration told the story of the UAE like never before.
We took our audience through a seamless journey that covered the UAE's rich history, bright future and a nation united in a theatrical performance involving over 200 cast members.
With a world-class stage set that included a 50m wide by 14m high back screen and a floor projection surface that was 35m by 35m, a 45 minute custom made soundtrack, futuristic special effects, visual content that merged live action and projection delivering a stage environment that was truly immersive. With a classic curtain call where the whole cast came out for one last celebration, the event ended with a jaw-dropping pyrotechnic show.


Registering and becoming a member of Quality Health will give you the opportunity to get free sample products and great offers from leading companies in the world. You can be one of the more than 8 million members that are currently enjoying the benefits of answering online paid surveys and other online activities.
Quality Health is more than your usual paid survey site. Here, you can have access to over 35,000 health articles that are sure to answer every inquiry you have regarding your health. You can sign up for newsletters for you to automatically receive updates on the latest health information. The site is home to a lot of helpful information all related to health. If you want to see the latest news or get recipes, as well as finding out what the symptoms you are feeling mean, all of these you can find here in the website.
Quality Health is also a site where you can enjoy other online activities such as shopping and answering paid surveys, which can earn you great rewards and cash. As a member, you will receive rebates and coupons, how cool is that?
The company does more than fill your pockets with great rewards, it also aims to equip you with the right knowledge on the certain types of diseases; the signs and symptoms, and what medication should be used. At Quality Health, you can click on several links that will take you to pages where you can get more helpful health information. So it's more than completing paid surveys, you also get to learn more about what you can do to remain fit and healthy.


Ganesha puja on the Chaturthi day is usually performed as per the Muhurat.
The first step of the puja is to prepare the Kalash - fill it with clean water, add to the water supari, coins, aromatic oil, haldi and kumkum, place 5 paan leaves, and finally the coconut. Decorate the coconut and the paan leaves. Next, prepare the sthaan where Ganpati will sit. This is done by spreading a handful of raw rice grains on the place. Over the rice grains, place one supaari and put haldi and kumkum on the supari and place dakshina. Subsequently you have to invoke Ganesha into the image. This is known as Pran Prathishta. The Pran Prathista mantra is chanted. Once this is done, spread 5 paan leaves. Over each of the paan leaf, keep 1 supari each, haldi and kumkum. Place 1 akhrot, 1 badaam, and 1 khareek each on the paan leaves. After that place the five different fruits, one over each paan leaf.
You can now lift the cloth put over Ganesh Ji when you brought the idol home.
Decorate the idol with mukut, chains, bracelets and vastra. Put a garland of fresh flowers over the deity. Apply haldi, pinjar, abhir, ashtagandh, sindhoor, sandalwood paste etc the idol's forehead. Also, keep pooja dhaga next to Ganpati Bappa, which can later be tied on hands of all family members after the First Aarti. Once the 'Pranpratishtha' is done, light the lamp and incense sticks to please the Lord. After this you can perform the ' Shhodashopachara ', which is 16 forms of paying tribute to Ganesha. Here you offer Dharba grass blades, Modakas, and flowers to Ganesha. Apply a tilak using Sandalwood paste. Keep a coconut along with the idol. You can also keep fried grains. On the day of the visarjan, this coconut should also be immersed in the water.
Next comes the Aarti. Using the wick, make and light the Akhand Jyoti (the lamp), and the aarti thaali which also contains dry fruits and spices. You can now perform the aarti. Honey and sugar candy can be offered to Ganpati. Keep the prasad and Modaks you have prepared in front of Ganesh Ji, and sprinkle with ganga jal.
One of the best known and most worshipped deities of Hindu religion, Lord Ganesha is invoked for his blessings before the beginning of any new journey in life. His puja is believed to grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity. Though he is invoked daily in all Hindu house holds, the time of Ganesh Chathurthi is when the celebration of his holiness assume huge proportions.
An annual festival that honours Ganesha, the Chaturthi, typically falls in late August or early September. During the time, devotees welcome his idol in their house, offer prayers to infuse life into it and after days of worship finally immerse the idol in water. The pious ritual is done in certain sequence or 'puja vidhi' and requires a myriad of items for offerings as well as prayers.
Offerings to the Lord are sacred; it should be the paramount in every aspect of its quality. Ganesh puja requires a variety of items and the accessibility to good quality pooja articles as well as availability of all the items required is a major concern for many devotees. It is here that our Ganesh Puja kit aims to help you. All the items required for invoking the divine power of Ganeshji, of the finest quality, can be purchased as single pack.


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Kevin Durant's agent explains the superstar's decision to come to the Brooklyn Nets
Ryan Honey
Emilee Chinn/Getty Images
The agent of superstar forward Kevin Durant explains why the veteran ultimately decided to join the Brooklyn Nets.
This past summer, Kevin Durant began a new chapter in his sensational career. The superstar forward, despite nursing a ruptured Achilles, made the ultimate decision to join the Brooklyn Nets. The then-30-year-old signed with them via a sign-and-trade deal involving his previous team, the Golden State Warriors.
Many thought the free-agency period in the summer would be huge for the New York Knicks. The belief was that both Durant and Kyrie Irving (who also became a free agent after the 2018-19 season) could sign with them. Nonetheless, both players had their sights set on the orange and blue's crosstown rival. So why did Durant ultimately choose to join a relatively young squad instead of the team that plays in the world's most famous arena?
Durant's agent, Rich Kleiman, explained his client's decision this past week on "The Michael Kay Show" on ESPN Radio.
"Kyrie played a part in that they're friends and communicated," Kleiman said. "I think ultimately if it wasn't the right decision for any of one of them individually they weren't going to go somewhere because of the other person. I think that all of these things play a part in a decision. There is no one thing."
Durant has yet to participate this season due to the Achilles injury and may not see the court until the 2020-21 campaign. Irving, on the other hand, has been sidelined since November due to a lingering shoulder injury. Nonetheless, Brooklyn is still in eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 17-20.


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HomeNewsUncategorizedNOW Democratizes telco opportunities
NOW Democratizes telco opportunities
Publicly listed information and communications technology industry trailblazer NOW Corporation has launched a program that will democratize business opportunities in the sector by partnering with small and medium-sized businesses and even entrepreneurial individuals.
The company is partnering with local entrepreneurs and local government units, initially in Northern and Southern Luzon, to bring NOW's technology to a particular area whether for horizontal deployment such as for barangays and wide area network, or for vertical deployment such as for office buildings.
Dubbed as NOW Virtual Network Operator (NVNO), NOW's business partnership model gives exclusive distributorship rights to the company's broadband service to a local partner over a particular area, or preferably in one of the 35 priority cities in North and South Luzon which NOW has identified.
An MVNO is a mobile operator that does not own its own network but instead leases wholesale capacity from an existing mobile operator and its network infrastructure and resells the bandwidth to its own end-clients. It is a proven formula to propagate telecommunications in other countries including the US.
Previous attempts by one telecom company to use the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in the Philippines have failed due to extremely high transactional fees being charged by the telecom firm to the MVNO.
But NOW Corp. president and CEO Mel Velarde emphasized that they are aiming to inject renewed energy to the failed MVNO attempts by its predecessors and will seek to correct the shortcomings. To do this, Velarde said they vow to adopt a transparent cost structure, adopt a shared vision as well as technological and execution risks, and a clear shared wealth through revenue sharing.
In late 2015, NOW Corp. and its telecommunications arm NOW Telecom launched Fiber in the Air, a fixed wireless broadband internet service that provides guaranteed broadband internet for enterprises with a capacity of 2.4 gbps. Since then, NOW Corp. has forged partnerships in Mega Manila with more than 200 building properties with a two–kilometer radius area coverage.
According to Velarde, fixed wireless connectivity is the way to go not only here but worldwide. In fact, US companies such as Verizon, AT&T and even Google Fiber are pursuing wireless deployment, he noted.
He explained that unlike traditional fixed broadband which requires companies to run cables to individual homes, offices, or buildings, fixed wireless uses radio waves to beam internet connectivity to multiple locations from a single site, thus allowing data delivery in a more cost-efficient way as well as faster end-user connection.
NOW Corp. has chosen to adopt fixed wireless as its initial mode of deployment in penetrating Mega Manila. Velarde stressed that Metro Manila is around 622 square kms and given the density of the area where electric poles and underground fiber optic are a logistical nightmare.
Velarde said airwaves, which is being used by telcos to deliver broadband via wireless, belongs to Filipinos, and therefore, it is but right for everyone to benefit not just in terms of technological application but also in economic benefits. Thus, the company has opened its doors to business partners in terms of distributing the service to a certain area of territory.
The business partnership is exclusive for five years with a revenue-sharing model that provides the partner with a healthy return on investment. The business partner will select the area, hire and manage sales people in order to sell the product, take care of selling and marketing the service, install the service to end-subscribers, assist NOW in identifying a possible hub where broadband capacity can be terminated, and ensure on-time payment by the subscriber,
Meanwhile, NOW will provide the business model, over-all sales and marketing support on the national and local levels, sales training, and will also provide collecting and billing as well as state-of-the-art devices to deliver broadband internet solutions.
A major requirement in selecting business partners is that the latter must be a resident of the chosen territory, must have a business in the area, and must have strong local influence.
Velarde also noted that local governments may also utilize fixed wireless to deliver broadband connectivity to public spaces as a form of public service. NOW can install its equipment in any government-owned building such as hospitals or city halls and distribute the broadband capacity to each building.
In February 2018, NOW Telecom was granted a 25-year renewal of its tri-mega franchise, allowing the firm to deploy a wide array of telecom services utilizing new technologies including fixed wired, fixed wireless, mobile cellular, and even satellite internet via outer space.
NOW Corp. is the number one business partner of IBM in providing cyber-secured collaboration solutions and IT services. Its clients include those with hypercritical IT systems such as banks (BDO, China Bank), the Supreme Court, and Golden Arches.
Source: https://technology.mb.com.ph/2019/04/30/now-democratizes-telco-opportunities/
http://now-corp.com/2019/05/07/now-democratizes-telco-opportunities
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Contact us at NOW Corporation or submit an inquiry online.
The addition of NOW Network to our hospital operation has benefited our patients in more ways than we expected. With most hospital records, lab results and medical care documentation digitized, we were able to improve our speed and efficiency. Our patients are also provided broadband access via wi-fi hotspots so they can receive the emotional support they need by being connected with their loved ones 24/7 through video calls and social media.
Engr. Manuel L. Umali
IT Manager , Metropolitan Medical Center
Unhappy with your building's Internet connection?