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Q: Transparencyof Spheres not working on all sides of my Cube - Helixtoolkit first question here - hopefully I got the formatting done right.
So I'm trying to create a 3D LED cube with 512 LEDs (8x8x8) in WPF with the Helix-Toolkit in Visual Studio 2015. I'm new to the whole 3D stuff in WPF so I might have some misunderstanding here. Basically what I'm doing right now is:

*

*I have a ModelVisual3D in my XAML Code namend "cube".

*I have a loop which runs 512 times - it creates a SphereVisual3D and sets its Material

*I add the LEDs to my ModelVisual3D

I want my LEDs to be almost transparent so I can see when a LED on the inside of the cube lights up. Thats why I used this Material:

DiffuseMaterial material = new DiffuseMaterial(new SolidColorBrush(Color.FromArgb(50,255,255,255)));
sphere.Material = material;

Transparency is kind of working. Example: Transparency is working on the right/front side of the cube (pushing the button 'turns on' the led). But it is not working on the left or back side of the cube. Can someone explain me why? I think it is related to the lightsource of this scene.
Transparency of the front side:
 left side:
This is my MainWindow.xaml:

<Window
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
    xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
    xmlns:local="clr-namespace:WpfApplication1"
    xmlns:h="http://helix-toolkit.org/wpf"
    xmlns:ed="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/2010/drawing" x:Class="WpfApplication1.MainWindow"
    mc:Ignorable="d"
    Title="MainWindow" Height="720.268" Width="894.578"
    xmlns:HelixToolkit="clr-namespace:HelixToolkit.Wpf;assembly=HelixToolkit.Wpf" >
<Grid>
    <!-- Using the HelixToolkit -->
    <HelixToolkit:HelixViewport3D x:Name="viewport" ZoomExtentsWhenLoaded="True" ShowFrameRate="True" ShowCoordinateSystem="True" Margin="0,0,0,45" ClipToBounds="False" InfiniteSpin="True">
        <!-- Using the SunLight. Strange thing is: If I use the DefaultLight my Performance gets really bad -->
        <HelixToolkit:SunLight Brightness="1" ShowLights="True">
        </HelixToolkit:SunLight>
        <!-- This ModelVisual3D Object should contain my LED cube -->
        <ModelVisual3D x:Name="cube">
            </ModelVisual3D>
    </HelixToolkit:HelixViewport3D>
    <!-- The button turns on a LED - for transparecy testing purpose -->
    <Button Margin="377,650,386,0" Content="Push Me!" Click="Button_Click"/>
</Grid>

And this is my code-behind Mainwindow.xaml.cs:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Data;
using System.Windows.Documents;
using System.Windows.Input;
using System.Windows.Media;
using System.Windows.Media.Imaging;
using System.Windows.Navigation;
using System.Windows.Shapes;
using HelixToolkit.Wpf;
using System.Windows.Media.Media3D;

namespace WpfApplication1
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Creating LEDs
    /// </summary>
    public partial class MainWindow : Window
    {
        public MainWindow()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
            //Create 512 LEDs
            for (int x = 0; x < 7; x++)
            {
                for (int y = 7; y > 0; y--)
                {
                    for(int z = 0; z < 7; z++)
                    {
                        addSphere(x, z, y);
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        public void addSphere(double x, double z, double y)
        {
            SphereVisual3D sphere = new SphereVisual3D(); //Creating new 'LED'
            sphere.Radius = 0.25;
            sphere.Center = new Point3D(x, y, z);
            DiffuseMaterial material = new DiffuseMaterial(new SolidColorBrush(Color.FromArgb(50,255,255,255)));
            sphere.Material = material;
            sphere.BackMaterial = material;
            //sphere.Fill = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.DarkBlue);
            cube.Children.Add(sphere);
        }
        private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            //Turns one LED red to test transparancy
            SphereVisual3D model = cube.Children[60] as SphereVisual3D;
            DiffuseMaterial material = new DiffuseMaterial(new SolidColorBrush(Color.FromArgb(255, 255, 0, 0)));
            model.Material = material;
        }
    }
}

Another weird thing is that when I am using "HelixToolkit:DefaultLights" the performance is really bad. I am getting like 0-2 fps. What can be the reason?

A: Try adding SortingVisual3D
    <h:HelixViewport3D ShowFrameRate="True" ShowTriangleCountInfo="True" ShowViewCube="True" >

        <h:SunLight/>

            <h:SortingVisual3D x:Name="view3d" Method="BoundingBoxCorners" SortingFrequency="30" CheckForOpaqueVisuals="True">

            <h:GridLinesVisual3D x:Name="grid" Width="500" Length="500" MajorDistance="50" MinorDistance="10"/>

            Add yours spheres here!

        </h:SortingVisual3D>
    </h:HelixViewport3D>

For better performance you should decrease  triangle count on spheres.
E.g.
        sphere.ThetaDiv = 10;
        sphere.PhiDiv = 10;


Information about your control panel, webmail, domain mnager, and other places to manage the details of your account.
NOTE: Microsoft has declared FrontPage legacy software, and no longer supports it. This section is offered as is for your reference only.


Lemurs is our year 4 class. Miss Smith is the class teacher, supported by Teaching Assistants Mrs Barlow and Mrs Price. There are thirty children in Lemurs class aged from eight to nine years.
The morning session starts at 9.00am until 12.30pm and the afternoon session starts at 1.15pm and finishes at 3.15pm.
PE sessions take place on Tuesday and Friday. All children need to bring a PE kit including pumps or trainers on these days. Library sessions take place on Friday afternoons and children use this time to change their home lending books and do research for their topic work.
Homework is given out on Fridays and should be completed and returned by the following Tuesday. Homework includes a list of spellings to be learnt and either an English or Maths activity. Children are expected to read at home each evening and should return their home reading diary on a regular basis so that it can be monitored by the class teacher.
The children in Lemurs class have regular educational visits which may vary according to the topic being studied.


Quiet and polite, he was characterized as an above-average student with an aptitude for art. However, from his earliest years in school, he recognized something was not fairly right when he wrote his name as "Eric Clapton" and his moms and dads' names as "Mr. and Mrs. Clapp". At the age of nine, he learned the truth about his parentage when Pat went back to England with his six-year-old half brother for a visit. This particular occasion affected him deeply and was a defining second in his life. He came to be moody and remote and stopped applying himself at school. Psychologically scarred by this occasion, Eric failed the all-important 11 Plus Exams. He was delivered to St. Bede's Secondary Modern School and 2 years later, got in the art branch of Holyfield Roadway School.
By 1958, Rock and Roll had exploded onto the globe. For his 13th birthday, Eric asked for a guitar. Discovering the low-cost German-made Hoyer tough to play - it had steel strings - he placed it apart. In 1961, when he was 16, Eric started studying at the Kingston College of Art on a one-year probation. He was expelled at the end of that time for lack of progression as he had actually not submitted sufficient work. The explanation? Guitar playing and listening to the blues dominated his waking hours.
Common of his introspective nature, Eric looked underneath the area and discovered the roots of rock in American Blues. The blues also meshed perfectly with his self-perception as an outsider and of being "different" from additional individuals. At some point in 1962, he requested his grandparents' help in buying a £100 electric double cutaway Kay (a Gibson ES-335 clone) after hearing the electric blues of Freddie King, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Buddy Man, and others.


One of my friend is interested to go to Tokyo for a trip and was asking me for advise as she has no idea where to start. Since I visit Tokyo rather often, I decided to write a blog post about how to go about planning a free & easy trip to Tokyo.
First and foremost when comes to trip planning, you will need to sort out your flights from Singapore to Tokyo. Tokyo has 2 airports, Narita and Haneda. Haneda is much closer to Tokyo then Narita but there are usually more flights into Narita than Haneda. Which to choose will come down to your own preference.
Flying off peak will be cheaper. Avoid flying on a friday or saturday. Usually flying mid week will get you the cheapest fare. The prices ranges from low $600s to highs of over $1k during peak season. Other airlines worth checking are Delta Airlines and Cathy Airlines that do offer the low $600s during off peak season.
Once you have sorted your air ticket, the next most important thing on your list - is your accommodation. For information about tokyo's accommodation and where to stay, you can check out this blog post.
It depends on how patient you are to trawl through more websites to find the cheapest deal. The above quotes in SGD. If you don't mind paying in foreign currency, you can check out more websites that sometimes give you an even better deals. Do comparisons between different sites, as from experience you may come across a better deal like breakfast or Wifi is included etc.
If it is your first time in Japan, a popular tourist must-do is to stay in a Ryokan. A ryokan is a traditional japanese inn that features tatami-matted rooms and baths. Here you get to wear Yukata (summer kimono) and sleep on futons. During your stay, you get to enjoy hot springs bath and try Kaiseki (traditional Japanese cuisine). It can be quite costly to stay in a Ryokan, but bear in mind that your stay includes both your breakfast and dinner. It is worth to splurge a little to have a taste of traditional Japan.
It may be difficult to find a Ryokan in Tokyo, but most tourists travel to Hakone to stay in a Ryokan. Here are some sites to have you to find/book one.
This is a difficult area to have someone help with your planning as it is very individual. What is my cup of tea may not be yours. Here is also a website that you can use to read up more on where to visit in Tokyo - Japan Guide. They have listed attractions that you cannot miss on the website.
Despite the fact that Tokyo is a huge metropolis that one can easily get lost in, her city transportation network is super efficient but can be to navigate. The best way to get around is to use either the Metro or Japan Railway (JR). Do check out Japan guide's page for more detailed information on getting around Tokyo here.
Tip 5: When to visit?
Again this is your personal preference. Japan has distinct seasons and each season offers different things. I love to visit Tokyo during Spring and Autumn. Spring of course is for the Hanami (Cherry Blossom) season and autumn for the autumn foliage which is breathtakingly beautiful. Do bear in mind, those are also the times when it is peak season for tourists which means prices for air tickets and accommodation will be higher. If you still choose to go during peak season, it is always a great idea to book early to secure any good deals there are out there.
Hope this post will have enough to help you start planning your trip to Tokyo. Look out for my other posts of Tokyo ranging from off the beaten track to great food places to check out.
Glad I came across this nice blog... Can u also include more on traveling to and from major attraction like Disney (especially the subways and trains). Any place of interest is a must?


text:
Karolina Karlovna Pavlova () (22 July 1807 – 14 December 1893) was a 19th-century Russian poet and novelist.

Biography
Karolina Karlovna Pavlova (née Jänisch) was born in Yaroslavl. Her father was a German professor of physics and chemistry at the School of Medicine and Surgery in Moscow. Pavlova was homeschooled. Her Polish tutor, poet Adam Mickiewicz (and also her first love), was "stunned by her literary talents." She was married in 1837 to Nikolai Filippovich Pavlov, who admitted he married her for her money. Pavlova had a son, Ippolit. For years they ran a literary salon in Moscow that was visited by both Westernizers and Slavophiles. Pavlova's husband gambled her inheritance away and began living with her younger cousin in another household he had set up. The marriage ended in 1853. She went to Saint Petersburg, where her father had just died in a cholera outbreak. From there she went to Dorpat (now Tartu, Estonia) to live with her mother and son. There she met Boris Utin, the "profoundest love of her life." In January 1854, Pavlova's son went back to live with his father in Moscow and go to the university there.

Pavlova settled in Dresden, Germany, in 1858. There Aleksey Tolstoy visited Pavlova, who was working not only as a poet, but also as a translator among Russian, French and German. She translated his poetry and plays into German. He in turn secured a pension for her from the Russian government and corresponded warmly and solicitously with her until his death in 1875. Pavlova died in Dresden in 1893.

Although Pavlova's poetry was poorly accepted by her contemporaries, it was rediscovered in the 1900s by the symbolists. Valery Bryusov combined Pavlova's work into two volumes which he published in 1915. Pavlova was called the "master of Russian verse" by Andrei Bely, who placed her in the same category as Zhukovsky, Baratynsky, and Fet.

The Sphinx, written in 1831, was Karolina's first poem in Russian. Some of her other works include: A Conversation at Trianon (1848), A Conversation at the Kremlin (1854), and the elegy Life Calls Us (1846).

Gender barriers

In nineteenth century Russia, the literature being produced "equalled that written at any place at any time in history," but most famous authors were male. Although she was a poet who helped Russian poetry transcend national borders with her translations, Pavlova was a female poet living in a man's world. Even when they admired her poetry her literary friends composed condescending memoirs, articles or private letters condemning Pavlova. Her poetry was heavily criticized in The Contemporary, and she was forced to leave her native country because of the overwhelming, negative criticism of her poetry. In a letter written in response to the criticism, Pavlova explains that "a woman-poet always remains more woman than poet and authorial egotism in her is weaker than female egotism."

A Double Life
Karolina Pavlova finished her only novel, A Double Life (Russian: Двойная жизнь), in 1848. It is a ten-chapter novel that mixes prose and poetry to illustrate the duality of women and of members of high society. The heroine of the novel is Cecily von Lindenborn. While Cecily has an undeniable, secret yearning for poetry, women poets were "always presented to her as the most pitiable, abnormal state, as a disastrous and dangerous illness." The poetry is symbolic of the inner world of Cecily. Like most other Russian novels of the time, Pavlova's novel is situated in the aristocratic world. Cecily, a member of this world, has been so carefully brought up that "she could never commit the slightest peccadillo ... could never forget herself for a moment, raise her voice half a tone ... enjoy a conversation with a man to the point where she might talk to him ten minutes longer than was proper, or look to the right when she was supposed to look to the left." She is lured into the respectable yet meaningless life of a woman of high society and into marriage by the people that are closest to her, yet, her dreams, which come to her in the form of poems, have warned her.

Bibliography
A Double Life (A novel in prose and poetry; 1846); Ardis, 1978
The Crone (ballad, 1840), Life Calls Us (elegy, 1846) and At the Tea-Table (story, 1859), from An Anthology of Russian Women's Writing, 177-1992, Oxford, 1994.
A Double Life, Columbia University Press, 2019 (The Russian Library). Translated by Barbara Heldt.

References

Literature cited
Heldt, Barbara. 1978. "Karolina Pavlova: The woman Poet and the Double Life." Oakland: Barbary Coast Books.
Peace, Richard. 1992. "The nineteenth century: the natural school and its aftermath, 1840–55". The Cambridge History of Russian Literature, ed. Charles A. Moser. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Terras, Victor, ed. 1985. Handbook of Russian Literature. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Terras, Victor. 1991. A History of Russian Literature. Castleton, N.Y.: Hamilton Printing Co. p. 225-226

Russian women novelists
Women writers from the Russian Empire
Short story writers from the Russian Empire
People from Yaroslavl
1807 births
1893 deaths
Women poets from the Russian Empire
Novelists from the Russian Empire
Poets from the Russian Empire
Salon holders from the Russian Empire

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
DOL Fiduciary Rule Upheld in Texas Federal Court
February 9 2017 – NRS
On February 8, 2017 Chief Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn of the Northern District of Texas upheld the DOL fiduciary rule against lawsuits by SIFMA, the US Chamber of Commerce, the Financial Services Roundtable and others. The judge issued an 81 page opinion addressing, and refuting, each of the plaintiffs' arguments.
The judge also denied a motion to stay the proceedings that had been filed by the US Department of Justice filed just that day.
This is the third court to uphold the rule, following rulings in DC and Kansas in late 2016. Marcia Wagner of the Wagner Law Group is quoted by Investment News as saying, "The DOL is batting 1.000 in the Courts."
There has speculation by some in the press that the DOJ's motion was a prelude to an announcement that it would no longer defend the fiduciary rule. While press reports at the time of this writing did not say whether the plaintiffs would appeal, filing an appeal that may not be contested would seem to be a possibility.
The DOL (which is still without a Secretary of Labor) has yet to announce the procedural means with which it will try to delay the April 10 Applicability Date in order to undertake the review requested by President Trump in his Presidential Memorandum of February 3.
What should firms do now?
At this point, the fiduciary rule is going forward. NRS strongly recommends that firms should continue to develop plans for meeting the applicability date. Even if the dates are delayed, it is entirely possible that a modified version of the fiduciary rule will go into effect. Moreover, some of the requirements of the fiduciary rule are likely to be seen as best practices by FINRA and the SEC, and may find their way into the securities laws.
That said, firms should be careful about implementing the changes required by the fiduciary rule over the next few weeks, as delays or changes may happen rapidly.
NRS suggests that a good rule of thumb is to develop plans for meeting the requirements of the applicability date that can be put into place within 30 days. If the applicability date has not been delayed by March 10, and there is no clear indication that the applicability date will be delayed, then firms should begin implementing their plans. If the applicability date is delayed, firms that have made plans for the new rule will be able to implement them quickly and efficiently (and make any needed modifications) should a new applicability date be announced.
Advisers Act
Dodd Frank
Evolution Revolution
FATF
FINRA 360
Investment Adviser Association
MSRB
NRS Insights
NRS News
Regulation BI
Regulatory Exam
Rule 3210
Rule G-10
Rule G-8
Series Exams
T+2

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Bobby appears on the 2001 release Best Of The Hoodoo Rhythm Devils.
Bobby appears on the 1997 release "The Saloon Years". Click here to learn more.
For bookings, ordering questions & general contact, e-mail Bobby Flurie here.
Thank you for visiting & please check back often!
Video of Barry "The Fish" Melton & Bobby Flurie from the Summer of Love 2007 event in San Francisco, 9-2-07. The song is called "Butcher's Boy."
Listen to the entire set here!
"More American Graffiti" has been released on Widescreen DVD. Bobby appears with Country Joe & The Fish in the movie.
Click icon for many of Bobby's finest studio tracks!
NEW! Bobby Flurie 2017 CD Release!
"Yes, it's true! I have just finished a new CD using a Guitar belonging to the great Roy Buchanan. It was a pipedream of mine that turned into reality. This old Telecaster has such a unique sound that I just could not pass up the chance to record with it, thanks to a special friend!"


Optiq is a new enhanced, multi-market trading platform, which replaces Euronext UTP. It provides customers with maximum flexibility, simplified and harmonised messaging, as well as high performance and stability.
To answer the needs of a fragmented and opaque ETF industry, and to meet increasing investor demand, Euronext will provide all European listed ETFs available for trading on a single pan-European platform designed in partnership with the ETF industry, combining standard order book, NAV trading and RFQ functionality.
buy-side across the globe, through their broker.


Mink and his cycling team embark on their journey.
He admits teaching an online class while on the road presents its difficulties, but he's figured out a few work-arounds. Mink plans to leave early each morning to ensure he's available for class at night, and will hold regular office hours, just as he would on campus. He is even carrying a thumb drive programmed with a wireless hot-spot in case his internet is unstable.
Mink began the 84-day trip on August 1, 2016, joined by two fellow cycling-enthusiasts and his wife in a sports vehicle. The team will travel from Oregon to Virginia on the Bicentennial Trail, a historic biking route that winds along the Oregon Trail, through Yellowstone National Park, and past Colorado Springs, eventually ending in the colonial city of Yorktown, Virginia.
While Mink is excited for the trip itself, it holds a deeper purpose than just recreation. Mink and his colleagues are cycling cross-country to raise money for the Children's Science Center, a DC-area non-profit dedicated to STEM (science-technology-engineering-math) education. They aim to raise over $5,000 to help fund the organization's education and outreach programs.
Teaching on-the-go means ease of communication is essential. Mink's online classroom was designed with this in mind, making it simple to connect with students while he's on the road. Dubbed "2KSB" by its creator 2U, Kogod's technology partner, the virtual classroom is "well-designed" and provides "lots of great opportunities for interaction," according to Mink.
He also advocates for online classes on the basis of developing essential technology skills. Although students are well-versed in social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram, Mink has noticed they have little experience with business technology. Online classes expose students to tools companies use for communication and organization, helping them develop valuable skills to use outside of academia.
Mink is grateful for the opportunity to teach at Kogod, a position he could not have accepted if required to teach on-campus. His experience highlights another benefit of online education—securing faculty who would otherwise be unavailable. Virtual learning provides access to a greater pool of faculty, many of whom have rich and varied perspectives to offer students.
As Mink continues on his Trans-American journey, he is excited to explore new places and meet different people as he manages his class. The trip is projected to end mid-October, after which he will immerse himself in family, work and other priorities he sacrificed while on the trail.
He's looking forward to the day his online teaching experiences will come full-circle. As a global traveler, it's only a matter of time before his life path intersects with one of his online students. "One day, I know I'll end up in the same city as one of my students and we can host a class together in the same video frame," Mink says.


Come on, lets see some old friends from the past! 2018 is the year. This year the reunion is going to be at the Ann Arbor, Eagle Crest Marriot Hotel.
Purchase tickets early for a cheaper price. At this time We are taking deposits of $50 to secure the hall. Invoices will go out for remaining balance in May of 2018. The first 10 ticket purchases will secure their tickets for $100. Prices are subject to change in accordance to the amount of attendees. If we can get 50 or more guests we can stay at this price if not then we will need to increase prices. It is very improtant for everyone to share this page and let friends know about it.
This will be a cash bar, but price of ticket includes your dinner,rent of the hall,dj,decorations and more.
This hotel will give a group discount if you want to rent a room during this time.


text:
Bridgestone supplying its run-flat tires for BMW 5 Series
TOKYO (Oct. 6)—Bridgestone Corp. said it has begun shipping its self-supporting run-flat tires to BMW A.G. for the new 5 Series vehicle model family that will be sold in Japan, Europe and the Americas. Rolling resistance on the tires—sizes 225/50R17 94W and 245/45R17 95 W—is about 7-percent greater than a conventional tire. However, the benefits of an eliminated spare and its related decrease in vehicle weight and increase in cargo space make the overall effect on fuel economy insignificant, a spokeswoman for Bridgestone/Firestone said. The tire maker is considering the support ring system technology it has licensed from Continental A.G. for heavier vehicles such as minivans and sport-utility vehicles, she said.


The calculation of the correct sample size is one of the first and most important steps in study design. Below is a list of sample size determination practices to be avoided as per the E9 Statistical Principles for Clinical Trials found in the FDA Guidance for industry.
Before we continue, let us recap what is required for sample size estimation.
The alternative (working) hypothesis at the chosen dose(s) i.e.
a significant result for my study?
Novice researchers often do not spend the appropriate amount of time examining existing literature that may of already addressed part of the question they wish to research.
Important insights can be gained from these before proceeding with your trial. You will most likely have many internal resources available to search a large number of databases and journals.
The most important design techniques for avoiding bias in clinical trials are blinding and randomization. These should be normal features of most controlled clinical trials.
It is desirable for trials to follow a double-blind approach. A double-blind trial is one in which neither the subject nor any of the investigator or sponsor staff involved in the treatment or clinical evaluation of the subjects are aware of the treatment received.
Treatments are prepacked in accordance with a suitable randomization schedule, and supplied to the trial center(s) labelled only with the subject number and the treatment period, so that no one involved in the conduct of the trial is aware of the specific treatment allocated to any particular subject, not even as a code letter.
If a double-blind trial is not feasible, then the single-blind option should be considered. In some cases only an open-label trial is practically or ethically possible. In some cases only an open-label trial is practically or ethically possible.
Bias can also be reduced at the design stage by specifying procedures in the protocol aimed at minimizing any anticipated irregularities in trial conduct that might impair a satisfactory analysis, including various types of protocol violations, withdrawals and missing values. The protocol should consider ways both to reduce the frequency of such problems and to handle the problems that do occur in the analysis of data.
Randomization introduces a deliberate element of chance into the assignment of treatments to subjects in a clinical trial. In combination with blinding, randomization helps to avoid possible bias in the selection and allocation of subjects arising from the predictability of treatment assignments.
Although unrestricted randomization is an acceptable approach, some advantages can generally be gained by randomizing subjects in blocks.
This helps to increase the comparability of the treatment groups, particularly when subject characteristics may change over time, as a result, for example, of changes in recruitment policy.
It may sometimes be desirable to use more than one primary variable, each of which (or a subset of which) could be sufficient to cover the range of effects of the therapies. The planned manner of interpretation of this type of evidence should be carefully spelled out.
It should be clear whether an impact on any of the variables, some minimum number of them,or all of them, would be considered necessary to achieve the trial objectives.
The primary hypothesis or hypotheses and parameters of interest (e.g. mean, percentage,distribution) should be clearly stated with respect to the primary variables identified, and the approach to statistical inference described. The effect on the Type I error should be explained because of the potential for multiplicity problems and the method of controlling Type I error should be given in the protocol.
The extent of intercorrelation among the proposed primary variables may be considered in evaluating the impact on Type I error. If the purpose of the trial is to demonstrate effects on all of the designated primary variables, then there is no need for adjustment of the Type I error, but the impact on Type II error and sample size should be carefully considered.
Dichotomization or other categorization of continuous or ordinal variables may sometimes be desirable. Criteria of success and response are common examples of dichotomies that should be specified precisely in terms of, for example, a minimum percentage improvement (relative to baseline) in a continuous variable or a ranking categorized as at or above some threshold level (e.g., good) on an ordinal rating scale.
The reduction of diastolic blood pressure below 90 mmHg is a common dichotomization. Categorizations are most useful when they have clear clinical relevance.
The criteria for categorization should be predefined and specified in the protocol, as knowledge of trial results could easily bias the choice of such criteria.
As categorization normally implies a loss of information, a consequence will be a loss of power in the analysis; this should be accounted for in the sample size calculation.
Inclusion and exclusion criteria should remain constant, as specified in the protocol, throughout the period of subject recruitment.
Changes may occasionally be appropriate, for example, in long-term trials, where growing medical knowledge either from outside the trial or from interim analyses may suggest a change of entry criteria.
Changes may also result from the discovery by monitoring staff that regular violations of the entry criteria are occurring or that seriously low recruitment rates are due to over-restrictive criteria.
Changes should be made without breaking the blind and should always be described by a protocol amendment. This amendment should cover any statistical consequences, such as sample size adjustments arising from different event rates, or modifications to the planned analysis, such as stratifying the analysis according to modified inclusion/exclusion criteria.
In long-term trials there will usually be an opportunity to check the assumptions which underlie the original design and sample size calculations. This may be particularly important if the trial specifications have been made on preliminary and/or uncertain information.
An interim check conducted on the blinded data may reveal that overall response variances, event rates or survival experience are not as anticipated.
A revised sample size may then be calculated using suitably modified assumptions, and should be justified and documented in a protocol amendment and in the clinical study report. The steps taken to preserve blindness and the consequences, if any, for the Type I error and the width of confidence intervals should be explained. The potential need for re-estimation of the sample size should be envisaged in the protocol whenever possible.
For example, a trial sized on the basis of safety questions or requirements or important secondary objectives may need larger numbers of subjects than a trial sized on the basis of the primary efficacy question.
According to the CONSORT statement, sample size calculations should be reported and justified in all published Randomised Control Trials (RCTs). Correct output statements should be applied in many situations in addition to RCTs, such as funding applications.
Output statements are almost meaningless if they neglect full details such as the estimates for the effect of interest and the variability. nQuery will automatically write up your sample size statement in the correct language and the format required for regulatory agencies.
nQuery is now the world's most trusted sample size and power analysis software.
In 2017, 90% of organizations with FDA approved clinical trials used nQuery as their sample size calculator. It is used by Biostatisticians of all levels of expertise. Created by sample size experts, nQuery boasts an extensive list of easy-to-use but powerful feature for sample size calculation and power analysis.


text:
Scoring Tool Ranks Impact of Internet Listing Services
Latest NewsNews
By Teresa O'Dea Hein, Managing EditorNorfolk, Va.— Vitrue's Social Media Index (SMI), a recently launched free tool that measures a brand's online conversations, reports that ForRent.com leads in social media involvement in the multi-housing industry.Based on patent-pending technology, SMI scores are comprised of various online conversations, ranging from text-dense micro-blogs to multi-dimensional video sites. Vitrue…
By Teresa O'Dea Hein, Managing EditorNorfolk, Va.— Vitrue's Social Media Index (SMI), a recently launched free tool that measures a brand's online conversations, reports that ForRent.com leads in social media involvement in the multi-housing industry.Based on patent-pending technology, SMI scores are comprised of various online conversations, ranging from text-dense micro-blogs to multi-dimensional video sites. Vitrue explains that ForRent.Com is actively utilizing social media tools such as Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and YouTube."The Vitrue Social Media Index provides invaluable insight for marketers to understand how they are stacking up in the social media space," explains Reggie Bradford, CEO of Vitrue Inc. "Brands are being talked about in social settings and we are providing the ability to proactively track these conversations." "In the last two years, we've embraced social media as an additional mechanism to reach people where they are," Brock MacLean, vice president of Internet operations, national sales and development, For Rent Media Solutions, tells MHN. "It's an ever-widening means to expand the distribution channel across the social media network. Social media is a very effective way to communicate with our core demographic of 18-34 year-old-adults," MacLean adds. Generating more than 83 percent of social media activity, video sharing makes up the largest portion of ForRent.com's SMI score. Apartment property video commercials seen on ForRent.com, called Community Theater, are distributed to an extensive network of channels including major search engines like Google and Yahoo!, social networking sites such as MySpace, and video sharing sites including YouTube. During October alone, these videos were viewed more than 17,000 times a day.Generating more than 12 percent of the SMI score, communication through social networking makes up the second-largest method of social activity for ForRent.com. More than 40 profile pages have been set up on MySpace, representing markets where the company's anchor publication can be found. The remainder of the score is comprised of activity in blogging and micro-blogging. This number includes key influencers who chat and push content through micro-blogs, such as Twitter. Twitter is a service that allows its users to send updates to their "followers" while trailing other individuals as well. "I think we will continue to expand our reach into these social media spaces," MacLean tells MHN. "We're certainly encouraged by this recognition and validation from Vitrue. Things we hadn't even considered 12 months ago are now possible," he notes. "We're evolving our services so that they're flexible and positioned for things to come."Five years ago, MacLean recalls, "Virtual tours became the must-haves on a Web site and only a year ago, video was edgy and cool but now I think video is becoming a must-have." Plus, in the first quarter of 2009, the company is launching a specific iPhone application, he announces. "Frankly, we've only scratched the surface a little," MacLean believes. "We started with our toe in the water and now are probably up to our knees.


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Lights and face of Doha
Doha, (Prensa Latina) There are magical places in each city, those which set landmarks and become their symbols: Venice, for example, has its canals dotted with gondolas; Havana its Malecon, and Doha, the Corniche, a promenade that draws a line between the Cosmopolitannoise and the bluish green Persian Gulf.
Published by: Prensa Latina
Through its seven kilometers long you can watch some of the most emblematic sites in the Qatari capital, such as the Clock Tower and the Amiri Diwan Great Mosque (the government's headquarters), with its cozy green emerald.
At one end of the horseshoe are the Sheraton hotel and convention center, and at the other is the Islamic Art Museum, with its impeccable geometric lines and its park so cherished by city residents.
You can also see the spiral tower of the Al Fanar Islamic Cultural Center, a touch of the immense Arabian styles and the buildings of the city in its multiple architectural designs, which have been the banner of the Emirate's modern era.
If you want to checkDoha's progress in the last decades, it is enough to compare old and current photos of the maritime promenade; and those who have lived here for a long time remember that not many years ago only the Sheraton Hotel pyramid stood out at the end of a plain with few buildings.
The official website of Qatar Tourism, the entity dealing with the nation's leisure industry, explains that the promenade was built on the basis of a dredging work between 1970 and the beginning of 1980.
The development of the area that connects the emerging West Bay business district with the city's south and the Hamad International Airport is part of the State's economic boom and efforts to promote tourism. That began in the city with the 2006 Asian Games, the article highlights.
Corniche is today the ideal site for everyday life. It's an area to practice sports or to have a family picnic or the stage where the country shows its military might on National Day or the venue of international competitions.
Standing out among the most picturesque features is the large number of 'dhow', traditional boats waiting for clients who would like to enjoy a tour of the bay. Some play greatest western music hits, authentic Arabian sounds or rhythms from India; with lots of lights, large pillows or multicolored rugs.
It's also interesting to see the large quantity of male walkers on Fridays, the first day of the weekend and for many the only one for rest. That is due to the great part of expatriates from countries, such as India, Pakistan or Bangladesh (the nationalities most commonly present in the country's foreign community) whostay here for years without their families.
But beyond the great buildings or the outstanding events, Corniche is a photograph of Doha's spirit.
Taken from Orbe weekly
mh/sat
#Corniche #DOHA #Qatar
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Macbook Pro 15"-- Pop, Dead, Smoke?
Discussion in 'MacBook Pro' started by SPNarwhal, Sep 14, 2016.
My friend is in Brazil right now and her Macbook Pro 15" just did something weird.
Let me start off by saying that her laptop was plugged into magsafe, but NOT plugged into an outlet.
She was using the Macbook Pro and all of a sudden she heard a pop noise, her laptop turned off, and she smelled a smokey smell.
She now turned it back on and says she smells a burning smell.
Again, it wasn't plugged into the wall, so it's not a power conversion thing. I'm stumped.
Her fan IS working, so it's not a broken fan.
It may be the battery that has popped....does it show any bulging where the battery is?
If it wasn't plugged in, then the electric from the battery was the cause and/or source of the issue.
Either way, smelling something burnt is not a good sign and she should take it in to be serviced.
Thanks for all the replies. Battery makes sense. I'll have her check on the battery.
I'm assuming if the battery was going on, it would give the "service battery soon" message when looking at the battery status. I've seen the plenty of times and eventually the battery swells up and pops the touch pad up and out of the laptop.
She's only been there a week.
She put popcorn in the microwave too long.
Try something like a Skype video call through your phones, over wifi. Have them point the camera at the system. Probably have to get them to take the bottom cover off though, which might push this idea into the realm of "Not A Chance."
In the meantime, ask her not to turn it on anymore until the problem can be properly diagnosed and fixed (if possible.) That might risk doing even worse damage to it.
She will be back home tomorrow, so I'll take a look inside and report back. Thank you, friends.


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Exclusive InterviewsFeatures
Choices and Consequences – A Discussion With "Life Is Strange" Writer Christian Divine (Part 2)
By Sep Gohardani July 8, 2016
In yesterday's first part, Christian and I discussed his path to becoming a professional writer and what enticed him to write on Life Is Strange. Today, the discussion continues on towards the game's characters, audience reaction and what Christian himself is planning to do next. We address some major plot points over the course of the interview (which include a discussion of suicide), so here is an obligatory spoiler warning if you haven't got round to playing the game yet.
Characterization, Choices and Time
Life Is Strange taps in to its cultural surroundings most effectively with its main characters, Max and Chloe, both of whom are acutely influenced by a wide range of ideas and past-times that they enjoy, and are markedly different people despite their close connection. Max is presented as likeable but flawed, still finding her way in the world but possessing strengths and weaknesses like any teenager would, or any human being for that matter. To pretend to be otherwise is just another weakness.
"Max is a wallflower, she's shy but she's not crushed," Christian said. "She has volition and she's willing to step up. She also screws up, she's not perfect, and that's the other thing about writing both about and for teenagers, they know bullshit a mile away. You can't fool a kid. Maybe you can trick them in to Justin Bieber," Christian quipped, "but for the most part you can't fool them. I mean I knew when I was a teenager, who was phoney and who wasn't. That's why Catcher In The Rye resonated so much, there's a bit of a touchstone there with Life Is Strange because Holden Caulfield was all about spotting phoneys and when you're that age you start realising who is being fake. "
This relation between what a person is really like and the face that they show to those around them is crucial to the game throughout. It's also what makes its portrayal of the characters so effective, as the player struggles to get a handle on what people are looking for, what their endgame is. David Madsen is a perfect example of this. At the beginning of the game, Madsen appears to be a domineering megalomaniac who has it out for Max and Chloe, but it turns out his character is far more than that. Christian told us that he enjoyed watching people react to characters in that way, and welcomed the diverse range of opinions.
"It's really nice to see what people are thinking when people are playing the game. When you read the forums and people are trying to work out whether Madsen is going to be a good or a bad guy, or even people who were just divided over Chloe and what she wanted, some people love her and some people just don't. Some people love Samuel and some think he's creepy. Some people despised Warren and some people loved Warren. Everybody loves Kate though!"
It's true. Amidst the sea of people with grey areas and agendas that you can't quite see, Kate is a character that is unambiguously good. "Well you had to put one person in there who represented the ideal, one who is unsullied," explained Christian.
That makes her story, which is a very dark one of being driven to the very edge by people who lack the kind, thoughtful qualities she has, all the more hard-hitting. We asked Christian about dealing with those very dark themes and how the team approached the discussion of suicide.
"I was always impressed by how far the team was willing to go with a lot of these issues," he said, with an admirable amount of honesty. "Maybe it's a cultural thing but the French are always willing to touch upon all these really serious issues that most American games would have shied away from completely. Jean-Luc managed to create this edgy scene that's based in really hardcore emotional issues that people have to face, so it's a tightrope you have to walk too because you don't want to be exploitative, and that's the number one issue. We always thought that we couldn't exploit it, it couldn't be cheap and it had to be real. I've known people that have committed suicide, when I was a teenager I broached it, it's not an issue that's totally unfamiliar for people, and there's a frame of reference there."
"We were sensitive to how players were going to play it, ensuring that it made sense from a character perspective, where the branching dialogue has to go and what choices you have to make. It's a tightrope, but thankfully it seems like people are appreciative of how we did it."
As a scene, Kate's suicide attempt was incredibly well received, both for how hard-hitting it is, and the fact that to diffuse the situation, you must already have got to know and improved your friendship with her over the course of the game. If you haven't, the game is completely unforgiving, to the extent that it shocked many, but that's a good thing, because as Christian said, to trivialise something of that magnitude would be wrong. What made it all the more impactful was Kate's status as a person of faith, and how low the pressures of the world have made her fall. Christian was glad that she has been embraced so avidly by the fan community, and credits co-writer Jean-Luc Cano once more for her popularity.
"It's great that the fandom has really embraced Kate. The way that Jean-Luc wrote her was to not make her the source of all this finger-wagging preaching. Maybe you wouldn't necessarily agree with her religious tenants but she's not judgemental, she doesn't push her faith on anybody, she's very well liked, and I like the fact that people still respond to her character, because she doesn't judge people in that way. Her predicament is sad, it's very dark in the sense of what she goes through but it's not unlike what thousands and thousands of young people go through every day."
[Kate's] predicament is sad, it's very dark in the sense of what she goes through but it's not unlike what thousands and thousands of young people go through every day.
The game does a very good job of linking storylines like Kate's, which of course turns out to be inextricably linked to the game's main mystery, with smaller storylines that explore all of the high school drama, whilst never forgetting that the central mechanic is Max's ability to turn back time. This causes you to think about every decision carefully, even when they don't seem worthy of the power you have.
"I think the irony in the game is that you get these amazing powers, and the first thing you do in the game is the most mundane bullshit you can think of," Christian joked. "That's what's fun about it. Instantly you think you're going to go out and do all these crazy things but no, it's I'm going to nark or not nark on my friend for pot, and other day to day stuff that takes up your time."
This is all once again linked to the game's exploration of what it is to be a teenager, and how even a superpower doesn't change the process that you go through.
"When you're a teenager, a lot of what you're going through is self-introspection and trying to figure out who you are, and those are critical years," Christian said. "So the fact is if you had this superpower you might not be thinking about the fate of the world but more about day to day stuff like homework. I think it works well and there's a nice irony level. There's also a nice contrast between what Max knows to be a bigger world out there and then her smaller world that she's a lot more absorbed in. Like any drama you need to contrast the real with the fictional so by creating these characters that maybe people align with, the more crazy sci-fi supernatural stuff that starts happening is more believable and acceptable in the world."
It was intriguing to hear what the time travel mechanic, which is so crucial to the 'crazy sci-fi supernatural stuff' that Christian just mentioned, brought to the game in Christian's view, and why he thinks it's so important.
"I think it defines the game because it's so much about that," Christian explained. "Dontnod's first game Remember Me had this memory remix mechanic, which is where they got Max's power from, and that was such an amazing mechanic, it was brilliant to use it in this game as well, and also to make a game where the goal is not to rush hurriedly through something actually to give you all the time in the world to consider everything. That to me made it jaw-droppingly brilliant when they sent me what they had done. Of course it fits in with the theme of living in the moment, and those moments where Max just sits and contemplates life, questioning her decisions. I remember so often older people saying that my years at high school were the best years of my life, and I was like "really? I hope not, they're so stressful!""
"I never took those years seriously either, I always knew it was a temporary station so I took it less seriously than some of my peers did and I knew that it was teaching people to conform or face bullying and all the bullshit that society trains you for, or at least what high school in America does. I know it's a very harsh time for young people so you have to put yourself in that position where time really matters, where everything seems of the utmost importance, from dates to parties or whatever. You can see your future is stretched out before you, even if you can't see it you know it's there and so it's terrifying, it's ultimately scary and liberating because you don't know where you're going to be and that's good and bad, so I think that the time concept is really important and captures all those ideas and those gnawing self-doubts."
That idea is very much part of what makes the game as effective as it is, and informs every aspect. You are always thinking about whether it has to be the way that you chose, or whether it could be different, or better.
"Yeah, that's very much the state of mind it gets you in," Christian agreed. "It makes you think, "what if I would have done this, what if I would have done this or that?" What If? was the original title of course, and that is what you do with your whole life, until the day you die. But my motto has always been an aphorism from one of my writing mentors, Thomas Farber: "He chose the path of least regret." That's literally what I want on my tombstone and it's very funny that a game like this came my way, a game about choosing. I always choose the path I will least regret later which means doing the thing that scares you the most even though often it doesn't work out the way you want."
Obviously, all the second, third and fourth chances that Max has at choosing the path that she wants end up being devastating because those choices are linked to the natural disaster that brings about the game's final choices. Perhaps the game is teaching you to choose the path you'll regret least first, but it also shows you other things, according to Christian.
"It shows you that if you could change time maybe things wouldn't be better, maybe some things need to happen. It's very funny because when I got the chance to work on the game I was so excited and so happy but I was also very cognisant of the fact that all the choices in my life, all the bad and good choices, rejections, acceptances, all led me to the moment of being able to accept the offer. You never know what it is that you're doing that's going to change that river of time," he said, as philosophically as you would expect from a writer on a game like this.
The most divisive aspect of the game is, without doubt, its ending. Christian dispels the idea that the ending means that your choices in the rest of the game don't matter, arguing that they definitely do.
"One thing I think that people don't see because they're so concerned about the 'bae or Bay' choice is that whatever choice you make, Max has changed. You're playing Max, and it affects her. I'll read someone saying that the choices don't matter but of course they do," he argued passionately.
I'll read someone saying that the choices don't matter but of course they do.
"Max has to live with all the choices you make throughout the game, even if the outcome in reality is not what happened, Max had to experience that in her reality, and those alternate realities she experienced may be real if you want to believe that time has all these alternate streams going on. There could be a million choices and it still would be possible to make the argument that there could be more. I think what the team wanted to get through was that not every choice is necessarily the right one but you do get to make that choice and you have to live with that choice. That's part of Max's journey in to adulthood. In the space of a week she goes from a shy introvert to this powerful force of nature. Everything she has done has changed her, so those choices had a huge impact on her no matter what, even if they didn't play out in reality."
The reason for Max's power is also never revealed, and Christian thinks that is a good thing.
"Though there are lots of arguments for and against explaining where her power comes from, I think that even if we know, it's often best not to say, and it doesn't mean that there's only one answer. It's like Twin Peaks. I actually interviewed David Lynch once, and he said "we never should have told them who killed Laura Palmer, we killed the golden goose!" and in a way, he's right. When you solve the mystery you kill the mystery, so how Max got her power is not as important as what she does with her power. That's not to say that in the future it isn't an element that can't or won't be explored. There are many stories that can be told about that."
Audience Reaction
Since the game was released last year, it has had an incredible reception from a fanbase that grew and grew by word of mouth and very complimentary reviews. Often, those who work on a game that achieves success on a scale that seems implausible confess their shock at its success, but not Christian, who says he absolutely thought the game would find its audience, though he concedes not quite to the level it has actually achieved.
"I obviously didn't think it would get to the level it has," he said, "but I did believe it would do well based on the fact that what they showed me was so amazing. I couldn't conceive of it not making an impact regardless of my involvement. I was telling the team all along, because I'm the loudmouth American, that I was certain about it. I'm more wrong than I'm right normally, but I was just so certain with this. If we could make sure it was done right it should nail that kind of game world that hasn't been depicted before and needs to be out there."
"I knew the game would get attention and early reviews of the demos were really amazing, so we got a sense of how the game would be received. I was always curious because the team pushed the game in to dark places that I was very surprised about, and I wasn't sure how those sections would be received, whether they would offend people or be too traumatising, or whether they wouldn't work and people would laugh. Certainly I could not call how people were going to respond to those individual moments."
"While every fandom is great, the Life Is Strange fandom has been really amazing, unlike anything I've ever experienced," he went on to say. "I love it because it's the most gentle, open fandom that I've ever seen. People may have arguments about the 'bae vs bay' choice or Warren but generally there's so much openness and warmth and everybody is looking out for each other. The greatest thing about the game is that it gives me hope for the future and for young people. I would call myself a cynical optimist, maybe things are shitty now but they can always get better, and I love the fact that people are embracing these characters and not judging them for their sexuality or their choices. It's just really nice to see the characters loved in that way."
Christian also told us that he loves everything that comes with having such a large fandom, and how people related so acutely with the characters.
"I love all the fan art that people have made, to me it's like a cool superhero team, the Everyday Heroes," he said, referencing a competition in the game that has become a fixture in the fandom. "I love the disparity of people drawing the Christian girl next to the badass punk girl next to the nerdy girl, it's really neat to see all the fans bring the characters together and find things to identify with. I get messages all the time that say "I'm totally Max" or "I feel like Warren" so it's cool that people have been able to actually see themselves in the game. From a writing perspective it's quite scary, because before the first episode was released you realise that you're about to be judged by the whole world and everybody on the team is going to feel that judgement so even though there were some people that didn't like the dialogue and have issues with it which is totally fine, there are many people who responded to it very well and that's extremely gratifying."
From a personal perspective, after a project as large as this, it was interesting to hear what Christian wanted to do next, whether he would work with Dontnod again, as well as whether the further stories in the Life Is Strange universe that he alluded to previously were in the pipeline.
"I would love to work with them again," he said enthusiastically. "We had a great experience, we talk all the time and it's a great team, basically my dream team. You don't often get to work on a game where everybody is on the same page and is firing on all the same cylinders. The nice thing about working on a French team is the French like to debate, which is a lot of fun. Not with any bad feeling, but they like to talk through and work out a lot of stuff, which is great. Just sitting there talking about Chloe for example is fun, working out what we can do with the different characters. It's a great experience and they all speak English really well, which is good for me until I manage to learn French," he joked.
On the potential sequel, he is much more coy. "I have no idea on that front," he said. "We'll have to wait and see how it plays out." Perhaps the fact that there are possibilities on Christian's mind provides enough hope for fans that there could be a sequel, though we know nothing of its nature at the moment.
We concluded our discussion by talking about Christian's other projects, and his focus at the moment appears to be in the film world.
"I've got some stuff going through Hollywood as I said before. I have a few things that are in pre-production right now so I was just in LA talking about them with my producers there. I used to live in the city but I prefer working from outside and travelling in when I need to, it's fun to just go down there and engage with people, have meetings with producers and then be able to leave."
Writers that work in both video games and films are rare, so it's good that Christian is working on both. For him, the reason for the lack of crossover is complicated.
"There have been a few high-profile screenwriters that they brought to video games but it hasn't always worked out and I think the reason for that is that there are only a handful of games at any given time that require heavy-duty intensive narrative or screenplay. It shouldn't be that way at all, but that tends to be the way of things."
"It's a different medium as well," Christian goes on, "and a lot of writers and screenwriters don't really understand games.They don't understand the branching dialogue, which is a big part of it, and something you really have to be adept at. You have to get that it's not just an interactive movie, there are other things going on that you have to include in the narrative. This means crossover is not common and I'm happy to be one of the few that do it. What I'm hoping for is that the games world will evolve from a narrative perspective, I left it behind for a little while because it wasn't evolving, it was still stuck in a 'little boy' rut which it needed to grow out of, and now I think it has," Christian concluded on a welcome, hopeful note.
Life Is Strange is out now and available to purchase on PC, PS3, PS4, X360 and Xbox One. If you enjoyed this interview, make sure to follow Christian on Twitter for updates on what he's getting up to.
Christian Divine
dontnod entertainment
Writing for video games
Sep Gohardani
ADR1FT is Coming to the PS4 on July 15, Xbox One Release Rumored for September
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L.A. Metro Considers Going Completely Fare-Free
By Ashlyn Davis • August 28, 2020
L.A. could be the first large transport system to go fare-free, and Garcetti is onboard with the idea.
Today, Metro announced that an internal task force will be working on a proposal to eliminate bus and rail fares for all riders, according to a press release. This new effort is being referred to as the Fareless System Initiative (FSI or OPERATION FSI) and is set to be delivered to the Metro Board of Directors by the end of 2020.
A new Metro exploratory task force will begin working Sept. 1 on a proposal to eliminate fares for all riders on Metro buses and trains. The task force will deliver a plan for consideration by the end of 2020. https://t.co/lr9vhzwWzr pic.twitter.com/rwokpKogpy
— LA Metro (@metrolosangeles) August 27, 2020
If this were to go ahead, it would make the first large transit system to go fare-free and is possibly one of the biggest initiatives the L.A. Metro has taken on. Metro CEO Phil Washington, said that the aim is to promote mobility and give aid economic development as the county begins it's pandemic recovery. This would provide workers that need it most with essential support while simultaneously promoting ridership that has seen a dramatic drop.
"LA Metro has a moral obligation to pursue a fareless system and help our region recover from both a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic and the devastating affects of the lack of affordability in the region,"said Washington.
On a broader level, this could woo more drivers over to public transport which vastly reduces congestion and, in turn, improve air quality.
The task force will be investigating a number of factors, including funding opportunities, the impact on homelessness, the rider experience and "how fareless transit will mitigate and/or eliminate allegations of targeting people of color for fare enforcement," according to the statement.
On Thursday, Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted his support for the project stating, "This is an important step toward a more equitable and sustainable future."
I support fare-free public transit in Los Angeles, and in my role as Metro Board Chair, I'm working with @MetroLosAngeles CEO and team to bring that vision to fruition in 2021. This is an important step toward a more equitable and sustainable future. https://t.co/L5HRAKBgzO
— MayorOfLA (@MayorOfLA) August 27, 2020
At this rate, 2021 is shaping up to be a great year already.
Featured Image: Metro Los Angeles


Recycling old sweaters might seem like one of those ideas that's better in theory than reality. The truth is though, if you have some time on your hands and don't mind getting crafty, there are a fair number of fun projects you can crank out if you happen to have a few of them stacking up in your closet that you just can't part with. Here are eight workable ideas for recycling old sweaters.
A friend of mine did this for her child in college using an old high school varsity sweater. Turning the sweater material into a pillow cover makes a memento out of something that otherwise would have been thrown away. Here's a set of directions on making throw pillows from old sweaters, and another link for using patterned sweaters from the 1980s to make funky floor cushions.
I've refinished dining room chairs with coordinating fabric remnants before, but sweaters are another fun strategy. Using chairs that have a padded seat only, you can unscrew the seat portion from the chair base and refinish that separately. I usually look for the second-hand chairs where the padding is still in pretty good shape. Then I only have to cut out a large enough piece of fabric to easily pull over the top to the wood underneath. A staple gun secures the fabric, and from there I reattach the seat cover. This article has some instructions and a visual on how to cover chair seats with old sweaters.
In this age of grocery shopping at farmers' markets and plastic bag reduction, having a few extra tote bags on hand is just a good habit to develop. Personally, I have a stash that I keep in the car, and one or two that I always have in my purse in case I'm riding with someone else. If buying new ones isn't in your budget, or you're just looking for a creative project for recycling a sweater that no longer fits, try turning your old sweater into a tote bag. There are several tutorials online, including the one I just provided and this sweater tote project from Canadian Living. So whip up a few for shopping or storage of your mesh produce bags. Of course, you could always use these for day trips to the beach and park picnics as well.
Some of my favorite presents that I remember from childhood were homemade stuffed animals. Guess what? You don't just have to crochet them anymore. These stuffed animals made from old sweaters are absolutely precious and can be made from special sweaters your child had when they were younger. For example, a holiday themed sweater from your child's first Christmas, or a special one that Grandma knit would both be worth preserving in some form. So would the sweater your little one wore on his first day of school.
Actually, if you're looking for ways to preserve a family heirloom sweater, then Christmas decorations are a great way to go. They only come out once a year, so the odds of your sweater recycling project lasting for years, or possibly generations, are high. Try making these holiday stockings made from sweaters courtesy of Martha Stewart, or these felted Christmas stockings made from sweaters illustrated by Planet Green. I've also seen tree-shaped tabletop decorations made from sweaters that actually turned out pretty well. Here are some simple sweater trees with a more modern feel, and a different type of recycled sweater Christmas trees from the Sweater Surgery web site. If you happen to have a sweater to recycle that has a round pattern all the way around the neck, preferably in wool, then check out this Christmas tree skirt made from a sweater. If you start working these projects into your craft schedule early in the year, you'll be all set when the holiday actually rolls around.
Looking for a fun way to cover up those diapers you like to let the little one roam around in? Try these fun diaper covers made from recycled sweaters. Personally, I like the ones I've seen made from the felted, rustic wool sweaters in darker, colonial colors. I think they have an earthier feel to them, look nice and fit in with the whole cloth diapering scene in general. But choose a look that works for you. After all, it's your recycling project.
Sweater and mini skirt set.
Personally, I've never met a teenage girl that didn't like to try her own hand at fashion design. If you've got some sweaters that are headed for the Goodwill donation box anyway, consider this shrug and skirt set project from the folks at Threadbanger. If I were a parent, I'd want my daughter wearing the finished skirt project over a pair of leggings, but I'm conservative that way. Regardless, it's a fun recycling project that your teen is sure to enjoy experimenting with.
If you're looking to start from scratch, but want to save the energy that went in to creating the sweaters in the first place, consider these two ideas for having a fresh medium to work with as you recycle your old sweaters. First, if the sweater in question is made of a high quality yarn such as cashmere, unraveling it might be the best way to go. If there's only a stain towards the bottom of one cuff, you've got the entire rest of the sweater to re-knit into a scarf, hat, gloves or other fun project. Best of all, if it's a gift, it will look completely new. Here are some directions for how to unravel a sweater in order to reuse the yarn. Second, for wool sweaters, consider doing the unthinkable and running them through the washer and dryer. This will "felt" the material and turn it into something you can cut and sew with. Fun patches for your jeans, quilting squares and many other ideas are possible. Here is a resource article on felting to help you get started.
As you can see, recycling old sweaters doesn't have to be tacky or boring. Plenty of project ideas exist to repurpose this particular clothing item with panache and style.
Love the pillow idea! Thanks for sharing. I usually wear my sweaters out or hand them down before I can turn them into anything cool like this.


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CUSTOMIZE YOUR RING
CUSTOM READY RING
Our First Annual Single Girl Weekend at Graceland, Hosted by Pricilla Presley
by Ingrid Kelly October 29, 2019
Being an Elvis fan ever since I can remember, naturally, I'm on Graceland's email list. One night I received an email announcing that Priscilla Presley was going to host an 'Elegant Southern Style Weekend' in Memphis. Going over the details and discussing it with Sherry, we quickly decided we should go. We purchased the VIP tickets that included dinner with Priscilla on the grounds of Graceland!
This would be the first of its kind event! We made arrangements to stay at The Guesthouse directly across the street from the Mansion and where all of the seminars would take place. Being excited was an understatement! It would be here where we'd begin to spread the word about The Single Girl Company. This would be our launch weekend!
A few days after everything was set in place, I remembered that Steven Tyler's Janie's House had just been completed in Memphis earlier in the year. Knowing that we had decided early on that this was the foundation we wanted to 'give back' to, Sherry called them and set up to meet with the director the day we would arrive. We found a local photographer, Hollye Workman, that would capture our trip in photos. This is where we would write our first check to Janie's House from The Single Girl.
Over the course of the weekend, we met some amazing people who had businesses of their own and provided great advice to help us move our business forward. Memorable thank you's going out to Tina Carter-Reaper and Chereece Jackson Passmore of Reaper Physical Therapy Inc and The Wedding Barn and Event Center at Carter Reaper Farms. These two women had amazing energy and were just good people!
Shout out to Kim Brackett! She was one woman traveling on her own and a force of fun and enlightenment. As an owner of the Victorian Inn in North Carolina and driving around the country blogging as she goes, we were in awe of her free spirit and all that led up to her life as it is now.
Michael Lucky was one of the panelists and had some great insight as to where we should turn to for our next venture! As a rep for West Tennessee Crown Distributing Co., he had quite a bit of knowledge that he shared and was fun to hang with.
A heartfelt thanks to Richard Shaw, Chief Development Officer for Youth Villages. He took the time to explain in detail all the good Youth Villages provides across the country and gave us a tour of their incredible 1200 acre campus in Memphis. We were in awe of Richard's passion and dedication to the young residents of Youth Villages and Janie's House.
One special lady, Angie Marchese. As the Director of Archives at Graceland, she is not only talented in all she does but always makes you feel as welcome as an old friend. Love her to pieces!
The gracious Priscilla Presley. Meeting and speaking with her was surprisingly easy and relaxed. She was the ultimate hostess for the dinners we attended with her as she made a point to go to every table and speak with everyone. A truly classy woman who has held her head high during the most trying times and is as beautiful inside as she is on the outside. My role model for sure.
The special guests that appeared over that weekend were personable, approachable and incredibly talented! Chef Kelly English, The Blind Sides Leigh Anne Tuohy, Event Planner Troy Wiliams, Designer Pat Kerr, Award-winning Costume Designer Janie Bryant, Hal Lansky of Lansky Bros. Clothing, Southern Living's Home and Garden Editor Zoe Gowen, Lead Interior Architect Aron Ramage, Lifestyle expert Jim Norton, Clothing Designers Sid and Ann Mashburn just to name a few!
As for our trip to Memphis, having drinks and dinner on the grounds of Graceland, meeting and talking to Priscilla Presley, was the ultimate dream come true. Sharing it with an old friend, meeting new friends and seeing first hand the positive impact Janie's House and Youth Villages has on our young generation is a memory I'll always treasure.
We could not have had a better experience for our business launch and our first Single Girl Weekend! Same time next year...absolutely!
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We'd love to talk to you! If you'd like a more detailed customization of your Single Girl Ring or have any other questions, both of us are here to guide you through the process. Feel free to cal us at 609-256-7444 with any questions!
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Q: Tkinkter Grid() alignment not as expected: Python 2.7 I am trying to use grid() function to align the labels and option menu side by side. Here's the code which I used to create a simple GUI:
    from Tkinter import *
    win1 = Tk()
    win1.title("Chumma")

    #Option selection frame:
    f3 = Frame(win1)
    f3.grid(column=0,row=0)
    f3.pack()
    l1 = Label(f3, text="Select the function which you want to perform: ", bg = "yellow")
    moduleList = StringVar(f3)
    moduleList.set("Normal Walk") #to display the default module name
    o1 = OptionMenu(f3, moduleList, "Normal Walk", "Brisk Walk", "Running", "Custom")
    b3 = Button(f3, text="Execute the option", fg="blue")
    b4 = Button(f3, text="Stop", fg="red")

    #Packing the stuffs in required order:
    l1.grid(row=0, column=0, sticky=W) #E means east
    l1.grid_rowconfigure(0, weight=1)
    l1.grid_columnconfigure(0, weight=1)
    l1.pack(fill = X, padx = 5)
    o1.grid(row=0,column=1)
    o1.grid_rowconfigure(0, weight=1)
    o1.grid_columnconfigure(1, weight=1)
    o1.pack()
    b4.pack()

    win1.mainloop()

The result is:

I am expecting the option menu o1 to be at the right of the l1.
If I comment the pack command [ l1.pack() and o1.pack() ], the program is not displaying any GUI at all.

A: After you call grid, a couple of lines later you call pack which cancels out the use of grid. Use one or the other but not both for each widget. Sinc pack defaults to side='top', your widgets appear stacked on top of each other.
The reason you see nothing if you comment out those two calls to pack is because you are still calling b4.pack(), and you can't use both pack and grid for different widgets with the same parent.
Also, the calls to rowconfigure and columnconfigure need to be on the parent widget. Calling them on the label widget will only affect widgets you put inside the label (which is possible, but unusual)

A: I believe Tkinter does not allow mixing up packing schemes (grid, pack, place) in one frame. Here is example how to organize three widgets.
from Tkinter import *
root = Tk()

label = Label(root, text='blablabla')
someotherwidget = Entry(root)
button = Button(root, command=lambda: None, text='Boom')

label.grid(row=0, column=0)
someotherwidget.grid(row=0, column=1)
button.grid(row=1, column=0, columnspan=2)

root.mainloop()

Option 'columspan' is like how many columns you want to join to place the widget. We have 2 columns here so if we want to see button not below label but below of both label and someotherwidget we have to specify 'columnspan' option (obviously, analog for rows is 'rowspan')

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


CelluRex is a unique formulation of PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone')' Coenzyme Q-10' Red Spinach Extract leaves' L-Arginine' and Epicatechin. Together' these ingredients can promote tissue vascularization' mitochondrial biogenesis' and oxidative metabolism. As a result' Cellurex™ may increase overall energy production' maximize endurance capacity and improve exercise performance.
Other Ingredients: Gamma cyclodextrin' hypromellose' Non-GMO vegetable magnesium stearate and silicon dioxide.
Free of: Milk' egg' fish' shellfish' tree nuts' wheat' peanuts and soybeans.
Take two (2) vegecaps daily as a dietary supplement or as recommended by your healthcare professional.


1 Owner, Custom Built, Contemporary Style Home! 3 BD, 1.5 BA on a cul-de-sac! Kitchen boasts custom cabinetry, newer appliances, and an eat-in breakfast bar with effortless flow to dining. Perfect for entertaining! Deck access of the kitchen offers amazing views. The great room boasts an abundance of sunlight with floor to ceiling windows. A half bath and laundry complete the main level. Upper level hosts Master BD with updated dual entry BA and 2 additional BDS. Attached 2 car garage is extra deep for storage. Landscaped lot overlooking the ravine for seclusion. Numerous updates per Seller!


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Atwatar Village, Glassell Park, Griffith Park, Hollywood, Los Angeles City College, Wilshire Center, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Restaurants
Serving: Japanese Food, Teriyaki, Seafood, Sushi
What The Fish Sushi
2804 Hyperion Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90027, United States
Copyright © 2021 What The Fish Sushi Restaurant - All Rights Reserved.
2804 Hyperion Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027


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15 49.0138 8.38624 arrow 0 bullet 1 5000 1 0 horizontal https://3milliondogs.com 300 4000
Making the world a better place for dogs.
This Dog Is Not Kidding Around When He Says He Wants To Wear Crocs
20 Dogs Who Think They Are Human With Hilarious Results
8 Things Your Dog Would Totally Lie To You About
10 Times lazy animals gave up
Dogs Explain Why Ugly Christmas Sweaters Are So Cute
25 Dogs Who Really Know How To Have A Good Time
10 Dogs That Don't Want Summer To End
8 Dogs That Really Love Fourth of July BBQs
Photographer Releases Soulful Photos of Dogs in Black and White
He Was Trained To be Service Dog But Instead He Became An Amazing Dog Artist
Photographer Captures A Sticky Situation For Dogs Covered In Peanut Butter
Flight Attendant Adopts Determined Stray Dog Who Followed Her For Six Months
Would You Drive With A Dog On Your Lap?
Homesick Sheepdog Escapes New Farm And Travels 240 Miles To Return Home
How Would A Dog Wear Pants? The Internet Is Faced With Its Latest Dilemma
Your Favorite Summertime Treat May Be Toxic To Your Dog – Find Out!
5 Tips To Keep Your Active Outdoor Dog Safe This Summer
When Plants Are Poisonous: Keeping Your Pet Safe This Summer
Protecting Your Dog's Paws During The Hot Summer Months
Planning A Summer Getaway With Your Pet? Here's What You Need To (Ask) Know
This May Be The Most Heartwarming Memorial From a Dog Owner
Man Creates Super Vest For Dogs After His Dog Was Killed By A Coyote
13 Ways a Dogs Love for You is Unconditional (#4 Will Get You Grabbing the Tissues)
Video Compilation Of People Being Reunited With Their Dogs Is All The Love You Need To See Today
26 Stunning Dog Tattoos That Perfectly Capture Your Dogs Spirit
This Alabama Woman Has Saved 264 Puppies In 8 Months
Why This Author Will Make You Consider Animal Rescue and Adoption
Heartwarming Before And After Photos Of Rescue Dogs In The Middle East
Meet The Couple That Rescues 10,000 Working Dogs Each year
Did You Know The Health Issues These 25 Breeds Most Commonly Face?
Meet The Cat With A Rare Brain Condition That Is Defying All The Odds Against Him
By Ana SaFe
Super Hero was born with hydrocephalus and despite the odds against him, he turned 2 years old last June.
Hydrocephalus is a condition commonly known as water in the brain. It is caused by cerebrospinal fluid that accumulates beneath the skull because it cannot drain or circulate. The head seems enlarged and pronounced in the forehead area. It causes extreme pressure on the brain causing damage, seizures, pain, migraines and it can lead to death.
Super Hero is a cat with one of the worse cases of hydrocephalus. Cats with these conditions are most likely on medications for their whole lives and require a lot of commitment and care, not to mention the cost of their treatments that would probably go up to thousands and thousands of dollars. Super Hero is no exception— this cat and his humans have really gone through a lot to keep him alive.
He was born on June 2013 in a shelter in New Jersey next to other five cats. From that litter of six, three were hydrocephalic, but Super Hero and Ollie were the most severe cases. The rescue wanted to euthanize both cats but the vet refused since they acted normal— if it was not for their enlarged heads, everything seemed fine.
It took three months for Hero and Ollie to be adopted, which is not that long considering their condition. Fortunately they found a loving family committed to taking care of them. At their new home, they were referred to as the Bobblehead Twins.
They were taken to several vets and a neurologist. They were treated in NorthStar Vets in Robbinsville where their condition had good possibilities of getting a proper treatment.
Soon enough Super Hero got worse and the family thought they would lose him but he improved fast. It was probably just a storm passing by that caused a rapid change in the barometric air pressure, a phenomenon that changes the internal pressure in the head of hydrocephalic patients causing more swelling of the brain. However, Ollie was the one that didn't make it. Despite being in intensive care in North Star Vets for five days, he died at the end of November.
After Ollie died, Super Hero got depressed and stopped eating and playing for a few weeks. But he recovered and defied the odds against him, celebrating his first birthday months later.
When his health badly deteriorated in the fall of 2014, his humans took his care to the Red Bank Veterinary Hospital, where Dr. Eric Glass, the Director of Neurology and Neurosurgery and one of the best doctors treating hydrocephalic patients, recommended implanting a shunt in Super Hero. This is a device that helps drain the excess cerebrospinal fluid from his head to his abdomen to decrease the pressure.
While his family was collecting the money for this and still trying other options, Super Hero's MRI results done in December showed that the blood supply had been cut and most of his brain had died, and that the remaining part of his brain was keeping him alive.
He had surgery in February this year and even though the shunt was implanted, it had to be revised twice to turn the pressure up since too much fluid was draining from his head. Despite the fact that only a small part of his brain is functional, this cat is still very normal. He plays, runs, meows and cuddles.
He still suffers setbacks, though: small ones caused by the weather and large ones where his consciousness decreases. He has gone through a lot— MRIs, a CT scan, the two shunt revisions, many X-rays, a spinal tap and many hospitalizations, but his family is still committed to fight 'til the end.
Super Hero is defying all odds against him and two months ago, he celebrated his second birthday. For paying for his bills, his family continuously asks for donations. If you want to help them, this is where you can. You can also visit hisFacebook page for updates on how his doing and leave him a comment.
Via Catster | Facebook
3 Million Dogs, Catbook, Friends
Cat With Hydrocephalus, Hycephalus, Hydro Cat, Meet Super Hero, Super Hero The Hydro Cat, The Cat Defying All Odds Against Hime
Award Winning Rescue Dog From "The Artist" Passes Away
EXCLUSIVE: Fireman, The Burned Puppy, Adopted By Little Girl Burn Victim
© Three Million Dogs · 2013-2018 · All rights reserved · A Poolhouse Property.


We are starting off the review of the Davidson Market for September with homes for sale. If you look at the visual below you will see that in 2016, there were 115 homes for sale and that number increased by 3.5 percent in 2017, to 119 homes for sale. In 2018, we further increased the number of homes for sale in September by 8.4 percent to 129 homes for sale.
The next graph is the median sales price. In 2016, the median sales price was $436,752 and that number actually decreased by 22.3 percent the following year, 2017, to $339,250. In 2018, however, the median sales price increased by 37.2 percent to $465,305! That was more than both 2016 and 2017!
Next, the median list to close days shows us how many days on the market the property was from the time it was listed until the time it closed. In 2016, and 2017, the time was very similar and only varied by 1 day. In 2018, the list to close days was increased by 20.8 percent to 93 days.
The next visual is very interesting and this shows the median showings to pending. As you can see, in 2016, it was 15 showings and in 2017, it was 17 showings. We jumped up to 21 showings in 2018, which was a 23.5 percent increase from 2017.
Our last visual is of the September Median Percent of Original Price - AVERAGE. In 2016, it was 97.8 percent of the original price and in 2017, that number decreased slightly by .2 percent to 97.6 percent of the original price. In 2018, another slight decrease from the previous year of 3.4 percent to 94.3 percent of the list price. Remember the sales price increased in 2018, by 37.2 percent and so that makes a huge difference!!
Hopefully, this overview will help you decide if now is the right time to put your home on the market. Please contact me if you have questions or need assistance.


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Drug ring sentenced
By Editor | October 26, 2017 | 0
While the case originated locally, the Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force was brought in to assist with the investigation and eventual prosecution of those involved – which led to federal charges against the suspects.
"We are very grateful to the Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force for their assistance in this case," Sheriff Waters said. "They were able to utilize their resources to help us get drug dealers off the streets of McCreary County for a long time."
"Working together at the local, state and federal level, we were able to put a serious dent in the drug problem in McCreary County, and more is to come."
The case began in July 2015 when Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Officer Chris King observed a vehicle turn onto a Forest Service access road. Due to the large amount of illegal ginseng harvesting taking place at that time, the officer followed the vehicle to investigate.
When the two subjects in the vehicle spotted the officer, they reportedly turned and fled. Officer King began a pursuit, finally stopping the truck on Baptizing Hole Road.
A large quantity of methamphetamine, other paraphernalia, and handguns were seized.
The LCADTF investigation focused on the driver of the vehicle, Steven Green, of McCreary County. A few months later, using confidential informants, Green was arrested in Pulaski County after an attempted controlled buy of methamphetamine.
Through interviews with Green, the suspect admitted to officers he was regularly supplied methamphetamine to sell by Scotty Watson and Joyce Good (AKA Joyce Watson).
Working with the federal agents, members of the McCreary County Sheriff's Department, Kentucky State Police and U.S. Forest service assisted with the investigation, gathering information and providing local resources.
The investigation led to a raid at Watson and Good's residence in December, where weapons, over $5,000 in cash and more than 11 ounces of methamphetamine were seized.
During their interviews with authorities the couple admitted to acquiring methamphetamine from a source in Georgia every couple weeks, and distributing to others locally for sale.
In January Watson, Good, Green, along with Steven Murphy, Garra Kidd, Jordyn Perry and Anthony Murphy were named in a 16-count federal indictment alleging they were involved in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Additional gun charges were levied against many of those named in the original indictment.
As the investigation and court proceedings continued, several additional names were added to the indictment, including Michael Birchfield, Jerry Gibson, John Slaten, Michael Daugherty, Paul Good, Jennifer Swain, Stacey Stout, Melvin Steele, and Carley D. Perry Jr.
Gregory Hutchinson and Aileen Strunk were not indicted as part of the conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, but were included on the document for other charges.
Hutchinson was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Strunk was charged with making false statements to a federal agent.
In all, a total of 18 individuals were named on the indictment and all faced federal charges – most of them concerning the conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine locally.
Green has pled guilty to the conspiracy and possession of handgun charges and was sentenced to 211 months in prison.
Joyce Good pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute meth charges and is serving 113 months, with an 8-year supervised release after completion of her sentence and agreed to forfeiture of property.
Steven Murphy accepted a plea deal on conspiracy to distribute charges and is serving 102 months.
Jerry Gibson's plea for conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of meth has him serving 60 months.
Carley D. Perry pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams of methamphetamine charges and was sentenced to 106 months.
Scotty Watson pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 95 months.
Garra Kidd pled to a charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 102 months.
Jordyn Perry pled to charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of an unregistered destructive device and was sentenced to 96 months.
Anthony Murphy pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in a drug trafficking crime charges and agreed to a 165-month federal jail term.
Michael Birchfield pled to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine over 500 grams charges and was sentenced to 148 months.
John Slaten pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine over 50 grams, with a 36 month sentence.
Jennifer Swain pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine charges with a 72-month sentence.
Stacey Stout also pled to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine charges and a 36-month sentence.
Michael Daugherty pled to a possession of firearms by unlawful drug user charge and was sentenced to 21 months.
Paul Good pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine with a 30 month sentence.
Gregory Hutchinson entered a guilty plea to a charge of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and will spend 92 months in federal prison.
Aileen Strunk pled guilty to a count of making a false statement to a federal agent and was sentenced to a three-year probation.
The only person indicted yet to face final judgment is Melvin Steele, who recently changed lawyers and is awaiting a trial date.


The museum will host a free day for viewings of the exhibit "Chihuly Illuminated." Activities will include Chihuly art challenges, family tours of the display and art-making pursuits. The cafe, Palette Express, will sell food; the store will have a post-holiday sale.
A story time will also feature music. Children are invited to take a toy instrument -- even a handmade one -- to play.
Young people 3 to 18 will learn how to become wildlife detectives, then test their newly acquired skills outdoors.