text:
Faces Behind the Screen: Kevin
<< Return to all "Faces Behind the Screen" stories
Amongst the eager walkers preparing to conquer the 2016 New England Halloween-themed Walk4Hearing 5K, we met Kevin, who was dressed as a fearless ninja.
Kevin was born with hearing loss and uses hearing aids.
As a 6th-grader, and as can be expected from any kid his age (who would rather be practicing karate in their ninja costume), Kevin's responses to our barrage of questions were endearingly concise.
His mother was also present for the interview and was happy to help to fill in some details:
So, Kevin tell us about your costume.
I'm a ninja.
Nice! And you actually do karate, correct?
I first did kung fu, and I got up to an orange belt. Then I started doing karate. And then I got all the way back up to my orange belt. Then I just went for my purple belt Saturday.
"When people annoy me I just turn off my hearing aids."
What other sports do you play?
Football, basketball, football, I do soccer. I tried hockey, but I fell on the ice and [hurt] my chin.
What's it like to have hearing loss while playing sports?
It's hard to hear.
How often do you not wear your hearing aids?
I wear them all the time. I just don't wear them to bed. When people annoy me I just turn off my hearing aids.
Do you feel like you hear well enough?
Yeah. You just turn up the volume [on things].
"He's our miracle child."
Does that drive your mother crazy?
Sometimes. Especially on Saturdays and Sunday mornings.
Cool, well thanks for talking with us Kevin!
"We don't raise him to feel different."
To Kevin's Mother: How do you think Kevin feels about wearing his hearing aids?
KEVIN'S MOTHER: He's our miracle child — our only child. He really is amazing.
It's challenging, you know. But now it's just such a part of him. He doesn't even know any different. He was about a month old when he had hearing aids. And it's been a challenge. But now it's just such a part of him.
He seems very unfazed by them.
He doesn't even know any different. It doesn't really faze him.
NOTE: This page was originally published on 3/2/2017 and was updated 1/17/2018.
We want to extend a huge thank you to the Hearing Loss Association of America and the New England Walk4Hearing for hosting this series of interviews on October 29, 2016.
Faces Behind the Screen is a storytelling project focusing on members of the Deaf and hard of hearing community.
Read more stories Subscribe to the monthly newsletter
Connect with Faces Behind the Screen on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest accessibility stories and news.


We've been brewing craft beer since before it was cool. Established in 1995 by two brothers, Russell, it has changed hands a few times but has remained independent throughout. We now have a fantastic team of brewers, drivers, sales and every other cog in the wheel needed to bring delicious liquid to your door. Pretty soon we might even have a tasting room too!
A champagne like IPA named after the driest of sparkling wines, fermented with Saccharomyces Trois and fully attenuated with the help of specialized enzymes. Generously dry hopped with a mix of Vic Secret and Idaho 7 with notes of pineapple, passionfruit and papaya lending themselves to a crisp dry finish.


Tyler Clifford is one of the most qualified realtors for those interested in Redding realty. Here are helpful tips on top Redding sightseeing areas. Those looking for or living in Redding, CA ready to buy or sell a home looking for a Redding realtor will enjoy the many benefits and tips on this site. Whether it's a cheap house for sale or a high-end mansion, he's ready to help you on your journey. He has both big houses for sale and foreclosed homes for sale.
Although our family has been in Redding for many years, we keep finding new hidden areas to enjoy. Every month we put out a newsletter often highlighting our recent finds, and we would love to share them with you. You'll find useful tips and insights on Redding and its breath-taking surrounding areas. We also make sure to have the directions. Can't forget those. We love sharing everyday life with our clients and this is one way we enjoy doing it. You always have access to our nationwide network of professional Realtors if you or your friends are looking to transition to a new area.
May/June 2017-Choose your own Whiskeytown Adventure!
April 2017-Have your PEEPS call my PEEPS!
Come on by Clifford Realty! Get a PEEP...leave a referral!!


text:
var expect            = require('chai').expect;
var resolve           = require('path').resolve;
var readFile          = require('fs').readFileSync;
var Promise           = require('pinkie');
var renderers         = require('callsite-record').renderers;
var ERR_TYPE          = require('../../lib/errors/test-run/type');
var exportableLib     = require('../../lib/api/exportable-lib');
var NODE_VER          = require('../../lib/utils/node-version');
var createStackFilter = require('../../lib/errors/create-stack-filter.js');
var assertError       = require('./helpers/assert-error').assertError;
var compile           = require('./helpers/compile');

describe('Compiler', function () {
    var testRunMock = { id: 'yo' };

    this.timeout(20000);

    // FIXME: Babel errors always contain POSIX-format file paths.
    function posixResolve (path) {
        return resolve(path).replace(new RegExp('\\\\', 'g'), '/');
    }

    it('Should compile mixed content', function () {
        var sources = [
            'test/server/data/test-suites/mixed-content/testfile.js',
            'test/server/data/test-suites/mixed-content/legacy.test.js',
            'test/server/data/test-suites/mixed-content/non-testfile.js'
        ];

        return compile(sources)
            .then(function (compiled) {
                expect(compiled.tests.length).eql(2);

                expect(compiled.tests[0].name).eql('1.Test');
                expect(compiled.tests[0].isLegacy).to.be.undefined;

                expect(compiled.tests[1].name).eql('2.LegacyTest');
                expect(compiled.tests[1].isLegacy).to.be.true;
            });
    });

    describe('ES-next', function () {
        it('Should compile test files and their dependencies', function () {
            var sources = [
                'test/server/data/test-suites/basic/testfile1.js',
                'test/server/data/test-suites/basic/testfile2.js'
            ];

            return compile(sources)
                .then(function (compiled) {
                    var testfile1 = resolve('test/server/data/test-suites/basic/testfile1.js');
                    var testfile2 = resolve('test/server/data/test-suites/basic/testfile2.js');
                    var tests     = compiled.tests;
                    var fixtures  = compiled.fixtures;

                    expect(tests.length).eql(4);
                    expect(fixtures.length).eql(3);

                    expect(fixtures[0].name).eql('Fixture1');
                    expect(fixtures[0].path).eql(testfile1);
                    expect(fixtures[0].pageUrl).eql('about:blank');

                    expect(fixtures[1].name).eql('Fixture2');
                    expect(fixtures[1].path).eql(testfile1);
                    expect(fixtures[1].pageUrl).eql('http://example.org');

                    expect(fixtures[2].name).eql('Fixture3');
                    expect(fixtures[2].path).eql(testfile2);
                    expect(fixtures[2].pageUrl).eql('https://example.com');

                    expect(tests[0].name).eql('Fixture1Test1');
                    expect(tests[0].fixture).eql(fixtures[0]);

                    expect(tests[1].name).eql('Fixture1Test2');
                    expect(tests[1].fixture).eql(fixtures[0]);

                    expect(tests[2].name).eql('Fixture2Test1');
                    expect(tests[2].fixture).eql(fixtures[1]);

                    expect(tests[3].name).eql('Fixture3Test1');
                    expect(tests[3].fixture).eql(fixtures[2]);

                    return Promise.all(tests.map(function (test) {
                        return test.fn(testRunMock);
                    }));
                })
                .then(function (results) {
                    expect(results).eql([
                        'F1T1: Hey from dep1',
                        'F1T2',
                        'F2T1',
                        'F3T1: Hey from dep1 and dep2'
                    ]);
                });
        });

        it('Should provide common API functions via lib dependency', function () {
            return compile('test/server/data/test-suites/common-runtime-dep/testfile.js')
                .then(function (compiled) {
                    return compiled.tests[0].fn(testRunMock);
                })
                .then(function (result) {
                    expect(result.exportableLibsEql).to.be.true;
                    expect(result.exportableLib).eql(exportableLib);
                });
        });

        it('Should not leak globals to dependencies and test body', function () {
            return compile('test/server/data/test-suites/globals-in-dep/testfile.js')
                .then(function (compiled) {
                    return compiled.tests[0].fn(testRunMock);
                })
                .then(function (noLeak) {
                    expect(noLeak).to.be.true;
                });
        });

        describe('Client function compilation', function () {
            function normalizeCode (code) {
                return code
                    .replace(/(\r\n|\n|\r)/gm, ' ')
                    .replace(/'/gm, '"')
                    .replace(/\s+/gm, '');
            }

            function getExpected (testDir) {
                if (NODE_VER < 4) {
                    try {
                        return readFile(testDir + '/expected-node10.js').toString();
                    }
                    catch (err) {
                        // NOTE: ignore error - we don't have version-specific data
                    }
                }

                return readFile(testDir + '/expected.js').toString();
            }

            function testClientFnCompilation (testName) {
                var testDir  = 'test/server/data/client-fn-compilation/' + testName;
                var src      = testDir + '/testfile.js';
                var expected = getExpected(testDir);

                return compile(src)
                    .then(function (compiled) {
                        return compiled.tests[0].fn({ id: 'test' });
                    })
                    .then(function (compiledClientFn) {
                        expect(normalizeCode(compiledClientFn)).eql(normalizeCode(expected));
                    });
            }

            it('Should compile basic client function', function () {
                return testClientFnCompilation('basic');
            });

            it('Should polyfill Babel `Promises` artifacts', function () {
                return testClientFnCompilation('promises');
            });

            it('Should polyfill Babel `Object.keys()` artifacts', function () {
                return testClientFnCompilation('object-keys');
            });

            it('Should polyfill Babel `JSON.stringify()` artifacts', function () {
                return testClientFnCompilation('json-stringify');
            });

            it('Should polyfill Babel `typeof` artifacts', function () {
                return testClientFnCompilation('typeof');
            });

            describe('Regression', function () {
                it('Should compile ES6 object method (GH-1279)', function () {
                    return testClientFnCompilation('gh1279');
                });
            });
        });

    });

    describe('Errors', function () {
        it("Should raise an error if the specified source file doesn't exists", function () {
            return compile('does/not/exists.js')
                .then(function () {
                    throw new Error('Promise rejection expected');
                })
                .catch(function (err) {
                    expect(err.message).eql('Cannot find a test source file at "' +
                                            resolve('does/not/exists.js') + '".');
                });
        });

        it('Should raise an error if test dependency has a syntax error', function () {
            var testfile = resolve('test/server/data/test-suites/syntax-error-in-dep/testfile.js');
            var dep      = posixResolve('test/server/data/test-suites/syntax-error-in-dep/dep.js');

            return compile(testfile)
                .then(function () {
                    throw new Error('Promise rejection expected');
                })
                .catch(function (err) {
                    assertError(err, {
                        stackTop: testfile,

                        message: 'Cannot prepare tests due to an error.\n\n' +
                                 'SyntaxError: ' + dep + ': Unexpected token, expected { (1:7)'
                    });
                });
        });

        it("Should raise an error if dependency can't require a module", function () {
            var testfile = resolve('test/server/data/test-suites/require-error-in-dep/testfile.js');
            var dep      = resolve('test/server/data/test-suites/require-error-in-dep/dep.js');

            return compile(testfile)
                .then(function () {
                    throw new Error('Promise rejection expected');
                })
                .catch(function (err) {
                    assertError(err, {
                        stackTop: [
                            dep,
                            testfile
                        ],

                        message: 'Cannot prepare tests due to an error.\n\n' +
                                 "Error: Cannot find module './yo'"
                    });
                });
        });

        it('Should raise an error if dependency throws runtime error', function () {
            var testfile = resolve('test/server/data/test-suites/runtime-error-in-dep/testfile.js');
            var dep      = resolve('test/server/data/test-suites/runtime-error-in-dep/dep.js');

            return compile(testfile)
                .then(function () {
                    throw new Error('Promise rejection expected');
                })
                .catch(function (err) {
                    assertError(err, {
                        stackTop: [
                            dep,
                            testfile
                        ],

                        message: 'Cannot prepare tests due to an error.\n\n' +
                                 'Error: Hey ya!'
                    });
                });
        });

        it('Should raise an error if test file has a syntax error', function () {
            var testfile = posixResolve('test/server/data/test-suites/syntax-error-in-testfile/testfile.js');

            return compile(testfile)
                .then(function () {
                    throw new Error('Promise rejection expected');
                })
                .catch(function (err) {
                    assertError(err, {
                        stackTop: null,

                        message: 'Cannot prepare tests due to an error.\n\n' +
                                 'SyntaxError: ' + testfile + ': Unexpected token, expected { (1:7)'
                    });
                });
        });

        it("Should raise an error if test file can't require a module", function () {
            var testfile = resolve('test/server/data/test-suites/require-error-in-testfile/testfile.js');

            return compile(testfile)
                .then(function () {
                    throw new Error('Promise rejection expected');
                })
                .catch(function (err) {
                    assertError(err, {
                        stackTop: testfile,

                        message: 'Cannot prepare tests due to an error.\n\n' +
                                 "Error: Cannot find module './yo'"
                    });
                });
        });

        it('Should raise an error if test file throws runtime error', function () {
            var testfile = resolve('test/server/data/test-suites/runtime-error-in-testfile/testfile.js');

            return compile(testfile)
                .then(function () {
                    throw new Error('Promise rejection expected');
                })
                .catch(function (err) {
                    assertError(err, {
                        stackTop: testfile,

                        message: 'Cannot prepare tests due to an error.\n\n' +
                                 'Error: Hey ya!'
                    });
                });
        });
    });

    describe('RAW file', function () {
        it('Should compile test files', function () {
            var sources = ['test/server/data/test-suites/raw/test.testcafe'];

            return compile(sources)
                .then(function (compiled) {
                    var testfile = resolve('test/server/data/test-suites/raw/test.testcafe');
                    var tests    = compiled.tests;
                    var fixtures = compiled.fixtures;

                    expect(tests.length).eql(3);
                    expect(fixtures.length).eql(2);

                    expect(fixtures[0].name).eql('Fixture1');
                    expect(fixtures[0].path).eql(testfile);
                    expect(fixtures[0].pageUrl).eql('about:blank');

                    expect(fixtures[1].name).eql('Fixture2');
                    expect(fixtures[1].path).eql(testfile);
                    expect(fixtures[1].pageUrl).eql('http://example.org');

                    expect(tests[0].name).eql('Fixture1Test1');
                    expect(tests[0].fixture).eql(fixtures[0]);

                    expect(tests[1].name).eql('Fixture1Test2');
                    expect(tests[1].fixture).eql(fixtures[0]);

                    expect(tests[2].name).eql('Fixture2Test1');
                    expect(tests[2].fixture).eql(fixtures[1]);
                });
        });

        it('Should raise an error if it cannot parse a raw file', function () {
            var testfile1 = resolve('test/server/data/test-suites/raw/invalid.testcafe');
            var testfile2 = resolve('test/server/data/test-suites/raw/invalid2.testcafe');

            return compile(testfile1)
                .then(function () {
                    throw new Error('Promise rejection is expected');
                })
                .catch(function (err) {
                    expect(err.message).contains('Cannot parse a test source file in the raw format at "' + testfile1 +
                                                 '" due to an error.\n\n' +
                                                 'SyntaxError: Unexpected token i');
                })
                .then(function () {
                    return compile(testfile2);
                })
                .then(function () {
                    throw new Error('Promise rejection is expected');
                })
                .catch(function (err) {
                    expect(err.message).contains('Cannot parse a test source file in the raw format at "' + testfile2 +
                                                 '" due to an error.\n\n');
                });
        });

        describe('test.fn()', function () {
            var TestRunMock = function (expectedError) {
                this.id            = 'PPBqWA9';
                this.commands      = [];
                this.expectedError = expectedError;
            };

            TestRunMock.prototype.executeCommand = function (command) {
                this.commands.push(command);

                return this.expectedError ? Promise.reject(new Error(this.expectedError)) : Promise.resolve();
            };

            it('Should be resolved if the test passed', function () {
                var sources = ['test/server/data/test-suites/raw/test.testcafe'];
                var test    = null;
                var testRun = new TestRunMock();

                return compile(sources)
                    .then(function (compiled) {
                        test = compiled.tests[0];

                        return test.fn(testRun);
                    })
                    .then(function () {
                        expect(testRun.commands.length).eql(2);
                    });
            });

            it('Should be rejected if the test failed', function () {
                var sources       = ['test/server/data/test-suites/raw/test.testcafe'];
                var expectedError = 'test-error';
                var testRun       = new TestRunMock(expectedError);

                return compile(sources)
                    .then(function (compiled) {
                        return compiled.tests[0].fn(testRun);
                    })
                    .then(function () {
                        throw new Error('Promise rejection is expected');
                    })
                    .catch(function (errList) {
                        expect(errList.items[0].type).eql(ERR_TYPE.uncaughtErrorInTestCode);
                        expect(errList.items[0].errMsg).contains('test-error');
                        expect(testRun.commands.length).eql(1);
                    });
            });
        });
    });

    describe('Regression', function () {
        it('Incorrect callsite line in error report on node v0.10.41 (GH-599)', function () {
            return compile('test/server/data/test-suites/regression-gh-599/testfile.js')
                .then(function (compiled) {
                    return compiled.tests[0].fn(testRunMock);
                })
                .then(function () {
                    throw 'Promise rejection expected';
                })
                .catch(function (errList) {
                    var callsite = errList.items[0].callsite.renderSync({ renderer: renderers.noColor });

                    expect(callsite).contains(' > 19 |        .method1()\n');
                });
        });

        it('Should successfully compile tests if re-export is used', function () {
            return compile('test/server/data/test-suites/regression-gh-969/testfile.js')
                .then(function (compiled) {
                    return compiled.tests[0].fn(testRunMock);
                });
        });

        it('Incorrect callsite stack in error report if "import" is used (GH-1226)', function () {
            return compile('test/server/data/test-suites/regression-gh-1226/testfile.js')
                .then(function (compiled) {
                    return compiled.tests[0].fn(testRunMock);
                })
                .then(function () {
                    throw 'Promise rejection expected';
                })
                .catch(function (errList) {
                    var stackTraceLimit = 200;
                    var err             = errList.items[0];
                    var stack           = err.callsite.stackFrames.filter(createStackFilter(stackTraceLimit));

                    expect(stack.length).eql(3);
                    expect(stack[0].source).to.have.string('helper.js');
                    expect(stack[1].source).to.have.string('helper.js');
                    expect(stack[2].source).to.have.string('testfile.js');
                });
        });
    });
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
NJ winter storm update: Ice/rain lull Sunday night, more snow Monday
UPDATE as of 5:45 p.m. Sunday...
Since this article was originally published, another review of the latest model info and other forecaster analyses have led me to revise my forecast. The updated map now appears below.
ORIGINAL POST from 4:10 p.m. Sunday...
So far, our winter storm has played out pretty close to forecast — Sunday has been quite wet to the south, and quite wintry to the north. As expected, travel conditions were poor in many spots.
And we're not done yet, as the biggest snow accumulations are yet to come Monday, as this storm system strengthens dramatically just off the coast.
Our latest snow forecast for Monday, updated Sunday evening.
I don't want to overload you with a bunch of regurgitated forecast information. So let me boil this down to three important points:
1.) We enter a relative lull from Sunday night through early Monday morning. There will be some showers around — mainly rain away from far North Jersey. But nothing heavy. And any additional accumulations to the north will be light overnight.
WINTER WEATHER ALERT: Closings and cancellations
2.) Monday's forecast has become even more challenging thanks to a new solution presented by the NAM model. Usually the NAM (the North American Mesoscale model) is scary-good at picking up the probability of mesoscale snow bands — those super-localized areas of super-heavy snow (1+ inch an hour) that can totally make or break a winter storm forecast. And that's exactly what it's doing late Monday, as a conveyer belt of cold air allows heavier snow to enter central and even southern New Jersey. That is countered by the lower-resolution, longer-range GFS and European models, which continue to trend nicely with my going forecast. I have tweaked my snow totals upward for northern and central NJ (drifting snowfall contours southward on the latest map). But I'm not buying a sudden flip to a half-foot of snow in South Jersey just yet. (I'll have one more opportunity to reevaluate and issue a final snow map early Monday morning.)
INSTANT ALERTS: Warnings, forecasts, accidents, and more
3.) The "main event" of this winter storm will start mid-morning Monday, as snow bands return to NW NJ. According to the going forecast (see note #2 above), non-North Jersey will remain relatively quiet during the day. Light to moderate rain will make for a yucky, but not really wintry day. However, guidance has been very persistent in showing one more push of snow Monday night. Therefore, I still think snow accumulation is possible anywhere in New Jersey by Tuesday morning. Yes, even south and coast.
Winter Storm Warning=Pink... Winter Weather Advisory=Purple... Coastal Flood Advisory=Green
A Winter Storm Warning continues for western Bergen, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, and Warren counties until Tuesday morning. Additionally, a newly upgraded Winter Storm Warning covers Hunterdon, Mercer, and Somerset counties (see note #2 above)
A less-urgent, less-severe Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for eastern Bergen, Essex, Middlesex, and Union counties until Tuesday morning. In addition, a newly expanded Winter Weather Advisory now includes Hudson, Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties (again, see note #2 above).
Finally, a new Coastal Flood Advisory has been issued for coastal areas of Middlesex, Monmouth, and Ocean counties, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday. About a foot of surge may cause minor tidal flooding of low-lying areas.
That's all for now. Next weather blog update will be published early Monday morning. Be safe out there!
Dan Zarrow is Chief Meteorologist for Townsquare Media New Jersey. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter for the latest forecast and realtime weather updates.
Source: NJ winter storm update: Ice/rain lull Sunday night, more snow Monday
Filed Under: Dan Zarrow's Forecast, weather
Categories: Monmouth/Ocean News, New Jersey News, News

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
XL Popcorn – Once Upon a Time in China
August 31, 2020 Cinema, In Progress1001 movies, Once Upon a Time in China, Tsui Hark, Wong Fei Hungmulholland
List Item: Watch all of the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die"
Progress: 816/1007 Title: Wong Fei Hung (Once Upon a Time in China)
Director: Tsui Hark
I think I am in the minority when I say that I preferred Peking Opera Blues over this film. Maybe it's because it's a more comedic film that tells a more localised story with some kick-ass female leads? Yes, I think that's pretty much why I rate that higher than Once Upon a Time in China. Martial arts films really just turn out to be hit and miss for me and this is one of those where I truly admire the direction and the stunt work, but everything else leaves me a bit cold.
Probably doesn't help that, last night, I watched From Beijing With Love and was a bit sad that Steven Chow didn't get a film in the list. Once Upon a Time in China is the second of two films by Tsui Hark to be featured and, given how it led to a resurgence in these types of period kung-fu films in Hong Kong, I can see how this was included alongside Peking Opera Blues.
It's just that, for me, this was a films that was trying to be too broad and epic in scope. Too many plates were in the air at the same time which, whilst it may be historically accurate, doesn't pair well with a large number of drawn out fight sequences. This, however, is fundamentally a taste thing. I had similar issues with A Touch of Zen – a film regarded as an exemplar of the martial arts genre that ultimately left me wanting more and feeling a bit bored and frustrated.
I hope I am not the only one who also, at times, felt a bit left behind by the plot. The number of antagonists, including a probably more than fair take on Westerners being more than arseholes, made the different threads a bit hard to follow at times. Maybe, at some point in the future, I'll find a copy of Drunken Master – which is about the same man (because Wong Fei Hung is one of those people who had a lot of films made about him) but apparently does it better… without being included on the 1001 list.
XL Popcorn – Europa Europa
August 30, 2020 Cinema, In Progress1001 movies, Agnieszka Holland, Europa Europa, Hitlerjunge Salomonmulholland
Progress: 815/1007 Title: Hitlerjunge Salomon (Europa Europa)
Director: Agnieszka Holland
I was meant to be in Malta right now, but all that went to hell with the whole coronavirus pandemic. So, I have two days of leave that I cannot reschedule that I am spending in the flat alone whilst my husband works from home upstairs. So, this is the first of 5-6 films to help me accelerate through the 1001 list. It is also the first time ages where seeing a film from the 1990s makes statistical sense – which is how we ended up here.
From the off, Europa Europa is based on a real life story composed of a number of unlikely and, ultimately lucky, events. It's the story of a Jewish boy who, during World War Two, is able to assimilate into and find protection as part of first the Soviet regime and then by masquerading as a non-Jewish German. The sequence itself is unbelievable, which makes it all the more astonishing that for the most part this actually happened.
What I take some issue in, however, is how they have taken a story that is already pretty unbelievable and then added onto it. I get that this is to streamline things and make it more cinematic, but all too often it just felt like the central character was the charmed son of a Jewish woman and a four leaf clover. I know coincidences happen, but by the end of it I just found myself exclaiming out loud 'of course that happened' at things that I later found out were added to the film.
That isn't to say that wasn't a good film in it's own right as, of the three films I saw today that will be coming up in future posts, this was the best of the bunch. If you took away some of the unbelievability and have the lip-synching on Julie Delpy done properly so it wasn't distracting, this would have been so much better and I would be able to call it great rather than good.
The sheer force of will and survival instincts in the face of certain death is absolutely astonishing. Plus, there is enough dark comedy in here to stop it from being so suffocatingly dark. I just wish that the final scene where he re-unites with his brother was done as it actually happened. Films are always going to be, by their very nature, manipulative but that was just one bit too far.
XL Popcorn – The Heartbreak Kid
August 29, 2020 Cinema, In Progress1001 movies, Elaine May, The Heartbreak Kidmulholland
Progress: 814/1007 Title: The Heartbreak Kid
Director: Elaine May
Comedies are in short supply in the remaining films on the 1001 list, so I have been keeping this particular film in reserve for a while. I saw the Ben Stiller remake a long time ago so didn't hold up too much hope for this one, but given that the UK is now in the beginning of the three week lockdown because of coronavirus (who knows it might go on for longer) it felt like the right time to roll out a comedy.
Just to get the first thing out of the way – this is a whole heap better than the rename. That is probably an obvious point to make, but it is one worth making. I guess it made sense to remake this as, for the time, it felt a bit ahead of its time in terms of being a dark romantic comedy. A very New York Jewish dark romantic comedy at that, which answers the question of what if you get married too fast and find someone you are instantly besotted with on your honeymoon.
The film itself takes a while to get going, but then again it needs to. After all, not only did we need to set up reasons why you may want to get a divorce from your new bride, but also to set up the kind of guy who would divorce his wife on day five of the honeymoon in order to pursue a younger woman. This is the kind of film where no one is particularly likeable, but there are still very much people who do not deserve the lot they are given.
At times this is laugh out loud funny and, considering the time, it's excellent to see a film like this being directed by a woman and be successful at the Oscars. Considering that Elaine May, herself a comedian, directed this without starring in it I am now keen to see her in action as she directs herself. So, I guess I need to track down A New Leaf at some point.
Graphic Content – Sailor Moon
August 28, 2020 Comics, In Progress1001 comics, Naoko Takeuchi, Sailor Moonmulholland
List Item: Read half of the 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die
Progress: 83/501 Title: Sailor Moon
Creator(s): Naoko Takeuchi
As I was growing up, Sailor Moon was a key series in starting off my love for anime. Where, to me, Pokemon was just another Saturday morning cartoon, Sailor Moon was the first series where I knew it to be something 'other'. Fox Kids called it Japanimation at the time and it wasn't until a few years later, once I had also grown to love Cardcaptor Sakura, that I knew is was more properly known as anime.
Now here I am finally reading the manga and… I have to say that I prefer the the anime. The Japanese version of the anime, not the English dub that figured the solution to lesbians was to have them be cousins who were a bit close.
For the uninitiated, Sailor Moon tells the story of five guardians of justice who defend the earth against alien and extra-dimensional forces. The focus of the manga is more on the relationships than the battles, to the point where the titular character never really feels in danger. One issue with the manga over the original adaptation, however, is how the characters who are no the titular character don't get anywhere near enough development.
I know that an anime that has to play for time as the source material is written can bring forth character development with filler episodes, but that's what this manga really needed for me to be better able to enjoy it. So much of the focus was to bring in the initial large cast of characters together that the likes of Sailor Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus get themselves lost in the shuffle despite ostensibly being more interesting than the central figure.
I'm biased, I guess, as I grew up loving Sailor Mercury and the Outer Scouts over Sailor Moon. I did enjoy reliving this through the original lens as well, but I think that if I want my Sailor Moon fix, I'm going to go back to the anime.
🎻♫♪ – Transfigured Notes by Milton Babbitt
August 26, 2020 In Progress, Music1001 classical works, Milton Babbitt, Transfigured Notesmulholland
List Item: Listen to half of the 1001 Classical Works You Must Hear Before You Die
Progress: 83/501 Title: Transfigured Notes
Composer: Milton Babbitt
The random picks have once again delivered a more recent classical piece, one that took a few years to hear its first public performance as it was seen as being unplayable. Now that I've heard it, I am still not entirely sure how a conductor is able to keep track of all the different lines, let alone how the many different threads of this piece can be properly synced up.
So many centuries of classical music have been in the pursuit of harmony, then here we have a more modern piece that attempts to produce something that is very complex and utterly atonal. In listening to this piece for a string nonet, it was hard to let go and try to appreciate it for the unusual being that it was. The sudden switches in tempo, the overlaying; everything was making it so that I was unable to find order in the discord.
I know that this is kind of the point and I should be able to take the piece for what it is, but for someone that had the beginnings of a anxiety attack listening to Bitches Brew this was a it of a sensory overload.
World Cooking – Kuwait
August 24, 2020 Food, In ProgressKuwait, world cookingmulholland
List Item: Cook something from every country Country: Kuwait
Progress: 77/193
If in doubt and I need to hit up a region for the sake of the world cooking list, I like to go for the smaller nation. It worked out well last time with Moldova, so the hope was that it would work again with Kuwait. Iran would have been fun to do as I have a bread recipe I've been meaning to try out, but that needs to wait until people have calmed down and stopped buying up all the flour.
Being a small nation in an area with a strong regional cuisine, the food in Kuwait bears the same hallmarks as its neighbours. So a number of dishes that I was looking to cook because of their popularity in Kuwait, like machboos, would have been fine if it would probably not be better served for another nation (in the case of machboos – Saudi Arabia).
Still though, there are enough things to make that it's not as if I was robbed for choice here. It's just that I wanted to make something that, at least according to the recipe or its accompanying blurb, had a Kuwaiti feel to it. This is what led me to cook today's recipe, which is the first Middle Eastern recipe I have tackled for nearly six months.
Main: Fried Fish with Rice
I know what it looks like, another fried fish recipe. You would be right, but it is entirely different flavour thanks to spices like black lime and the accompanying tomato sauce (which the recipe assures me is Kuwaiti style).
One obvious difference between the recipe (available here at Food.com) is the type of fish. The recipe indicates that I use a whole silver pomfret per person, which I would have liked to do if I knew where I could get hold of some of these fish given the current government advice (it's March right now). In the end, I went with basa as that was the best alternative available at the time.
I swear that with the poaching, marinading, the frying and the baking this recipe has the most different cooking methods I have used for fish in quick succession. It did lead to a well flavoured bit of fish, with a good texture – but wow that was a lot of kerfuffle. Went well with the rice though, which was cooked in the fish poaching liquid before having spiced fried onions mixed in.
Given all the panic buying going on around coronavirus (please let us be through the worst of this by the time this post goes up) I won't be doing anything on the world cooking challenge for a while. It's difficult enough to find food in the supermarket for regular eating let alone tracking down specific things for specific countries. I guess it's a good thing I started on a reduced posting schedule when I did.
XL Popcorn – Lola Montès
August 23, 2020 Cinema, In Progress1001 movies, Lola Montès, Max Ophülsmulholland
Progress: 813/1007 Title: Lola Montès
Director: Max Ophüls
It's been two and a half years since I was stood in the Gallery of Beauties in Munich thinking that I really should see this movie next as part of the 1001 list. That was about 150 movies ago and I've finally gotten around to seeing it. I don't know if I hadn't properly made the connection that this is by the same director of Madame de… and Letter From An Unknown Woman else I might have watched it earlier.
I think the best word to describe this whole production is opulent. At the time, this was the most expensive film made in Europe and it shows. Whilst I am sure that there are some location shoots for the more palatial set pieces, the circus arena alone must have cost a bomb. I'm sure there were ways they could have saved some money, but there's something extra special in seeing a director go all out.
Much comment has been made about the level of acting from Martine Carol in the titular role. It's a big and complex role to play and some have found her acting to be a bit too wooden when you would have expected something a bit more alive. For me, I actually quite liked the level of detachment that she gives the character. After all, Lola Montez is someone who needed to be somewhat hardened to the world in order to pursue the life she did.
Maybe it would have worked better with us seeing her becoming more and more removed as life went by instead of general detachment – but I didn't enjoy the film any the less because of it. This isn't at the same level as the other Max Ophüls films I've seen, but the other two I saw were so great that this was unlikely to match up anyway.
(✿◠‿◠) Anime!!! – K-On!
August 22, 2020 Anime, In ProgressAnime, K-On!mulholland
List Item: Watch the 100 Anime to See Before You Die
Progress: 51/100 Title: K-On!
Episodes Aired: 39
Year(s): 2009-2010
After a heavier and mech anime like Macross I think I needed to go in the complete opposite direction for my next one – which is how I ended up with K-On!. There are many anime out there which broadly fall into the category of cute girls doing stuff and K-On! is one of the really important series that helped shape a bunch that followed. Despite my earlier written love of Azumanga Daioh, this isn't necessarily my favourite genre, but this list managed to steer me in the right direction yet again.
Over the course of two seasons (where the name changes by the addition of another exclamation point) we get to know the members of a high school light music club – essentially a club where they play popular music. To begin with it's a core group of four, then not too far in we get an additional member from the lower years. Being the type series that it is, the music isn't the top priority, instead it's the lives of these five band members.
Not to say that the music isn't an integral part of their lives, we watch them as they perform, practice and do all they can to avoid practicing. Given all that's happening right now around coronavirus, a series with low stakes and such a positive feeling is exactly what I needed. Plus some of the songs are legitimately good to the point that I have actually been playing a small selection on Spotify.
Given the current coronavirus stuff happening, and my not getting any substantial solo anime time for a while, it's likely that this will be my last anime series being crossed off for a while unless it's something the husband would also like to see. So, I'll end this post on my favourite song from the series – which I have been playing a lot recently:
🎻♫♪ – Symphony no. 2, "Mysterious Mountain" by Alan Hovhaness
August 21, 2020 In Progress, Music1001 classical works, Alan Hovhaness, Mysterious Mountain, Symphony no. 2mulholland
Progress: 82/501 Title: Symphony no. 2, "Mysterious Mountain"
Composer: Alan Hovhaness
Little did I know when listening to this for the first time that it would be the last time I would be doing a classical piece when in the office. Here's something for a weird time capsule, as I am writing this the week where coronavirus just got a lot more real in the UK. So I'm not sure how that is going to be effect my future postings for a while other than my now cancelled trip to Malta, but it is what it is.
So, Mysterious Mountain – a short 17-minute symphony by a composer I had never heard of that I really enjoyed, even if the beginning made me think a bit of 'If I Had Words' from Babe. Nothing wrong with Babe, I mean a talking pig is pretty mysterious, but it was a weird image to start off with.
The image of talking pigs and dancing farmers soon evaporated as the rest of the piece took over. Allegedly this piece was born from dreams that Hovhaness had that he was later trying to recreate in his waking life, somewhat imperfectly to the point where he didn't like listening to it.
I think it's a beautiful piece and it sounds like such a mixture that things came before. The name Mysterious Mountain makes you expect something a lot more mystical than what you get, but it's one of those pieces that would have definitely made for an interesting Fantasia narrative had this piece been but a decade or two older. I don't know if that sells it, but it's one of those where you can really let a story take you during the allegro vivo.
World Cooking – Moldova
August 18, 2020 Food, In ProgressMoldova, world cookingmulholland
List Item: Cook something from every country Country: Moldova
Well, I saw a gap in the European section of my food map and Moldova was a perfect country to fill it in. Truth be told, I don't know too much about this small nation in Eastern Europe. Going from the flag and the position, the assumption that I made was that this frontier is somehow a mixture of Romanian and former Soviet traditions. Having done some research, it's gratifying to know that I wasn't too far off.
The food of Moldova derives from the many different conquered that they gave had over time. This means that their most recent culinary influence comes from Russia, but you also have influences from the Ottomons, the Greek the Ukranians from way back when. This is a similar invasion grouping to its neighbour Romania, which means that a lot of the food you find in Moldolvan food lists can also be found in Romanian ones – so I went for a dish that is classed as the national dish as well as a street food style spin off.
There are a number of foods that I could have picked that I think I would like to make for other neighbouring countries. Specifically I really would like to make borscht and cabbage rolls. The former should be fine, but for the cabbage rolls I really need to get me to an Eastern European market so I can get hold on some pickled cabbage leaves.
Main: Mamaliga
Sometimes a national dish is full of bells and whistles that make it a devil to make. Then there is Moldova, whose national dish is their version of polenta or cornmeal porridge. It's one of those staple foods that you see in so many countries, that it is interesting to see somewhere elevate it to the level of national dish. Also helps that I actually love eating polenta and like to get the opportunity to make it.
To make sure that I made it the proper way, and not some Italian way, I followed the directions from The Spruce Eats down to serving it with sour cream and cheese. As a main dish it's an easy one to make and, on the surface, it's remarkably simple but everything fits together remarkably well. Like, this is something I can easily roll out on a moment's notice and still have a hearty meal. Would be nicer with some bacon… maybe.
Side: Mamaliga Balls
As the main dish was so simple, I was looking for something else I could make. Seeing that I am one of those people who has three different grinds of cornmeal (coarse, fine and arepa-grade) I had all that I needed to make these salami filled mamaliga balls. Well, once I bought the salami.
Crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside and with the fat of the sausage softened by the fryer, these balls (again, by The Spruce Eats) are the slightly more gourmet Eastern European version of corn dogs. Delicious and something that I can see me making should I ever host a Eurovision pot luck and need to make something for Romania or Moldova.
Since it took me so long to get to cooking food from the Philippines the time has come once again to make something Asian. Like with this week's pick of Moldova, I have looked at the map and figured that the best place to look would be in the vicinity of Iran, Iraq or Kuwait. I guess that it will depend on how much time I have to spend on lunch as, for one of them, I have the idea to make bread.


text:
Raphael Warnock Words On Georgia Senate Runoff in Georgia Against Republican Walker
/ News / By Marianne Garvey / December 8, 2022 December 8, 2022
Raphael Warnock, Democratic Sen., will win the runoff for Georgia's Senate CNN projects that gives a big grip for the Senate next year. It also dealt an absolute blow to former President Donald Trump. The opposite candidate Republican Herschel Walker is defeated by him and takes the lead with 51 seats to the GOP's 49.
Although this race seemed difficult for the opposite candidate, Republican Walker, winner of the House majority and hoping for Capitol Hill power, was smashed by some Trump Senate nominees.
"There are no excuses in life and I'm not going to make any excuses now because we put up one heck of a fight," Walker stated for Warnock.
Warnock stated in his victory speech "after a hard-fought campaign – or should I say campaigns – it is my honor to utter the four most powerful words ever spoken in a democracy: The people have spoken."
"I often say that a vote is a kind of prayer for the world we desire for ourselves and for our children," Warnock continued. "You have put in the hard work and here we are standing together."
Vote for @ReverendWarnock.
Vote today to build on the work of people like John Lewis and Ann Nixon Cooper who paved the way for us.
Vote to build a better future for the next generation. https://t.co/SRPhjFLzGA pic.twitter.com/N0wLBhQ8XO
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 6, 2022
"The only way to explain this is candidate quality," Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan said on CNN.
Brian Kemp's last victory in November and Walker's victory finished the race.
He said he hoped Warnock's victory would serve as a wake-up call for the GOP. "If we don't take our medicine here, it's our fault. … Every Republican in this country ought to hold Donald Trump accountable for this."
Tuesday night, when votes are counted, many Republicans are close to winning, Kemp rescuing Walker after last month's election. He helped Walker in campaigning and saw some effort for the GOP Senate. The Senate next year is already planned by Democratic as in Nevada, Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto holds on to his seat, and another seat in Pennsylvania is clutched by Democratic John Fetterman.
Warnock Will Win Georgia Senate Runoff in Georgia Against Republican Herschel Walker
50-50 votes also tie with President Kamala Harris. Another two tremendously single-handedly members of the Democratic, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona provide huge support.
Although Warnock collected more votes than Walker, because of the majority Walker won in the last month's Georgia senate election. According to ad companies, Democratic spend double the amount of Republicans in ads. Warnock created a small lead in last week's result.
The main reason Walker lost his majority is the scandal he did. These scandals questioned his honesty even though he did not accept the reports regarding women's abortions. When he contested for the Georgia seat, he provided a tax break only for a primary residence this year in the Dallas, Texas region.
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a Georgia runoff election, ensuring Democrats an outright majority in the Senate for the rest of President Joe Biden's term. https://t.co/ka5yHM0G6d pic.twitter.com/vRqbEFYYzH
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 7, 2022
He got 3.1 million votes and this year he lost a lot of votes and only got 1.87 million this year. Warnock is supported by Black voters in a CNN poll, more than 32% of votes are there, said the Georgia Secretary of State's Office. On the other hand, Trump's nominee for the general election was clearly ignored by the public.
This time Trump wanted revenge from kemp because he rejected his demand in the 2020 election. Kemp easily defeated Democratic candidate Abrams generating 200,000 votes ta\han Walker. The incoming chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Montana Sen. Steve Daines, told CNN: "Clearly you want to see candidates who can win general elections and we're gonna keep working that in."
Georgia is a red state with no business being represented by two liberal senators – read my latest oped @ajc what my party needs to learn from last night's result here in Georgia and around the country.https://t.co/oCgeqqw1Dd
— Geoff Duncan (@GeoffDuncanGA) December 7, 2022
"He would lie to the campaign and then the journalists would come out and find the story," said Christian Walker, who lives in Miami. "It was just absurd."
Final Lines
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Today, we remember the lives lost at Pearl Harbor 81 years ago and salute the brave servicemembers who kept our country safe & defended our freedoms.
May we never forget Pearl Harbor.
— Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (@SenatorWarnock) December 7, 2022
Utah Police Officer, Suspect Both Wounded in Shootout: Reports
Indonesia-focused Ac Ventures Closes Oversubscribed $205m Third Fund
Leave a Comment / News, Venture / By Admin
Early-stage Vc Firm 8iventures Has Launched Its Second Fund That Seeks to Raise $50m.
Marianne Garvey
I'm a freelance SEO Manager at Venture Jolt. I work with entrepreneurs and companies to help them rank higher on search engines and reach more of the people they want to reach.


Provided engineering services for a new water treatment plant located in Viola. The plant was designed for a residential area. In order to blend in with the neighborhood's aesthetics, the plant lives in a "house". The project also included a 100 x 150 foot lot, and a 3000 gallon well – the largest in Baldwin County. Additional highlights include noise off-sets where the sound is no louder than an air conditioner.


I used to sketch a lot before. I even tried charcoal rendering also and I really enjoyed it as well. But as of now, things changed... I seldom use my pencil anymore and I haven't tried using charcoal again. I do not know if it is that passion in me that was lost or am I just having difficulty finding a time for it anymore. Or maybe because this pregnancy demands much of my time. Whatever is that temporary detachment that I felt for sketching right now I knew from deep within me that such passion already lives in me and it will never get out of my system. This is just another case of get-back-to-me-soon.
The seasons of our life changes.


A new rumor claims Apple will hold its annual iOS roadmap event in early April to show off iOS 5 as expected, but also states the company will also unveil an updated MobileMe service.
Citing a "confident" source, German site Macerkopf.de reported Tuesday (via Google Translate) that the event will be held in early April at the company's Cupertino, Calif., campus. The timing would not be a surprise, as last year's iOS 4 preview event was held in early April.
But the inclusion of MobileMe in the annual event would be new, and could signal that anticipated changes to the cloud-based service will be heavily integrated into the next major release of Apple's mobile operating system for the iPhone and iPad.
In February, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple plans to improve MobileMe by having the service act as a "locker" to hold personal data such as photos, music and videos. It was also said that Apple is considering making the service, which currently costs $99 per year, free.
Corroborating that information, The New York Times separately reported that Apple plans to roll out an enhanced MobileMe this year. It was said that Apple is working on improved "voice navigation" on the iPhone, allowing users to operate the device through voice commands without the need to rely on a virtual keyboard.
Further evidence of planned changes to MobileMe came as Apple discontinued the sale of retail boxes for the service last month. It has also been rumored that the new MobileMe will rely on self-storage from a home computer for streaming, rather than remotely saved files hosted by Apple.


text:
Andrea Nittoli
Birthday: 2 March 1966, Newark, New Jersey, USA
Born in Newark, New Jersey, Andrea attended School of Performing Arts High School in Montclair New Jersey. She is the daughter of Alfred Nittoli, an actor and a songwriter. He wrote "Here's to the Band" recorded by Frank Sinatra. Her mother was also a songwriter who wrote "Lovin Things" recorded by the Grass Roots and Marma... Show more »
Born in Newark, New Jersey, Andrea attended School of Performing Arts High School in Montclair New Jersey. She is the daughter of Alfred Nittoli, an actor and a songwriter. He wrote "Here's to the Band" recorded by Frank Sinatra. Her mother was also a songwriter who wrote "Lovin Things" recorded by the Grass Roots and Marmalade, among others. Andrea is herself a singer, making her singing debut at age 4 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Show less «
Andrea Nittoli's FILMOGRAPHY
Californication - Season 3
Arrested Development - Season 3
The X-Files - Season 7
Married With Children - Season 1
The Practice - Season 8
Married With Children - Season 10
According to Jim - Season 1


text:
Roy Victor Cheek
After training and working in a number of local authority parks departments, Roy Cheek was senior lecturer and curator of gardens at Somerset College of Agriculture and Horticulture from 1970 to 1990.
From 1968 he was horticultural adviser on the restoration of the Jekyll planting in the Formal Garden at Hestercombe in Somerset, which began in 1973. Mr Cheek remained involved on this project until 1994.
Mr Cheek is now a horticultural consultant to many notable gardens and leads garden tours around the world. He is vice-chair of two RHS floral committees and a judge for Chelsea and other international flower shows. He has written many articles and books.
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text:
Culture: Book: Reference
How many fingers am I holding up? (+16, -2) [vote for, against]
A dictionary of numbers.
This book lists, in ascending numerical order, things of which there are this many. Not all of them, just some that work well as examples.
If you're trying to make a number clear to a lay audience, you could look it up there, and talk about "water molecules in the Atlantic ocean" or "the number of ping pong balls that would fit into the Metropolitan Opera".
I wouldn't be surprised to find that such a thing already exists, but I did a superficial search and didn't find it - anyone?
[Kudos to phundug for his "Amazing Equivalence Calculator" and to simonj for the "Worth Your Weight In..." index - I hope this is different enough in focusing on the numbers themselves - half such a device, if you want.]
-- jutta, Nov 25 2007
innumeracy http://www.innumeracy.com/index.htm
OK, it's a Hofstadter thing [globaltourniquet, Nov 25 2007]
here's a great book http://www.amazon.c...dy3Q%3D#reader-link
about it - I knew I had seen this somewhere. I've actually read this one, and forgot all about it :) [globaltourniquet, Nov 25 2007]
Adam Spencer's Book of Numbers http://www.amazon.c...82897/ref=sid_av_dp
Covers 1-100. Going by the detailed review, it's easy to slip into irrelevance. [jutta, Nov 25 2007]
Orders of Magnitude http://en.wikipedia...itude_%28numbers%29
Some great source material here. [st3f, Nov 25 2007]
Worth Your Weight In Index the_20WYWI_20Index
Somewhat related [simonj, Nov 26 2007]
Charles and Ray Eames' "Powers of Ten" http://www.gofish.c...gfp?gfid=30-1025863
More a display of scale, than numerics - but a classic all the same. [zen_tom, Nov 26 2007]
The Principle of Computational Equivalence http://www.wolframs...ce.com/prizes/tm23/
Just an interesting dissertation on how any system (number) may be represented by like units in a limited number of states, e.g. golf ball, back side of a golf ball, innner vs. outer golf ball in a golf ball cage. [reensure, Nov 27 2007]
Winston Churchill http://www.wsu.edu/...rors/churchill.html
''...up with which, I will not put" [xenzag, Nov 27 2007]
unit conversion calculator http://futureboy.us...#SampleCalculations
An actual working equivalence calculator, sort of [gtoal, Nov 28 2007]
Online standards converter http://www.theregis...ards-converter.html
1 mile = 11495.5742 linguine, 174.5721 double-decker buses, or 11.6381 brontosauruses [angel, Nov 28 2007]
Just to be clear - I meant illustration in the sense of a verbal example, not in the sense of drawing. (Edited idea text to avoid confusion.)
Although some drawings or photographs would actually be cool. But it wouldn't be the main focus.
Plus plus plus.
"Innumeracy" (a term I forget where I first heard, but retrofit it to "illiteracy" and you get what it means) is a huge blight on my country. It is a major source of superstition, religious nonsense, and general lack of understanding. Something like this would certainly help.
-- globaltourniquet, Nov 25 2007
It was about to get published under this title: "What is the weight of Jupiter in dandruff?" :-)
-- xenzag, Nov 25 2007
I like the idea, but there's still a difficulty in really getting to grips with big numbers. If I say "1 billion - population of the US" (or whatever it is), I'm not sure that that helps me to form a mental image of either the size of the US population _or_ the size of a billion. In other words, "a billion" is difficult to conceive as a number, and difficult to conceive as a concrete representation, so equating the former with the latter may not help. If you tell me that "there are ten to the 46 water molecules in the Atlantic ocean", or that "there are as many people in the US as ping-pong balls needed to fill the Metropolitan Opera" what does that actually help me to understand?
I think that, to begin to grasp big (or indeed very small) numbers, you need more graphic examples. For instance, a picture of 1000 people, 1000 birds or 1000 coins might help me get to grips with "a thousand". A well-constructed series of photographs might enable me to visualize a million, and maybe more. I think that "understanding" a billion in any real sense is very difficult.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 25 2007
//I think that "understanding" a billion in any real sense is very difficult.//
Grains of sand are a useful way of imagining large numbers. For example, there are roughly a billion grains in 30 litres of sand.
-- xaviergisz, Nov 25 2007
//For example, there are roughly a billion grains in 30 litres of sand.// Yes, and maybe that works for some people - I guess people think in different ways. Personally, if I look at 30 litres of sand, I see 30 litres - it doesn't really help me imagine the number "one billion". In fact, if you'd told me there were 100 million or 10 billion grains of sand in 30 litres, I'd quite happily have believed that.
I think the problem (for me at least, but I suspect for most people) is that you're just equating one unimaginable number with another.
If I wanted to visualize, say, a million, then I think I could do it by laying out a million pieces of gravel on a 1000 x 1000 square: it would be possible to see all of them at once and appreciate how many there were. A billion would be harder - I think I'd need to see a series of images, zooming out from a square with a million items, then seeing that there were a thousand such squares.
When you think of 30 litres of sand, [xavier], do you really get a good grasp of "a billion" as a number?
There is a fascinating article in this months' Discover. It's an interview with Steven Pinker about how he believes human brain is hardwired to be able to grasp language.
The role that metaphor plays in basic understanding, if applied to numbers would make mathematics much simpler for children who don't learn linearly to "get".
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Nov 25 2007
//For example, there are roughly a billion grains in 30 litres of sand.//
But are these, say, coarse grains like you might find on a Devon pebble beach, or the fine coral sand (aka "parrot fish shit") you might find in the Tropics?
You could easily be an order of magnitude out.
[boysparks] My teacher used to use a similar analogy based on the height of the Empire State Building, which would've been understandable had it been that the class lived in or near the Empire State, and not Lancashire.
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Nov 25 2007
Whatever next? Decimal - Binary Phrasebook?
Chapter A: 0 to 1023
0 - 0;
2 - 10;
Chapter D: Two's complement, -511 to 512
-- Jinbish, Nov 25 2007
See Stanislaw Lem: One Human Minute, in which all human activity is numerically quantified.
-- nuclear hobo, Nov 26 2007
I've often wanted something like this for dollar amounts. When newscasters talk about the cost of a new building or a new initiative, they invariably speak the word "million" or "billion" as if it were italicized and bold-faced. E.g. "fifty MILLION dollars". But I still don't know if $50 million is cheap or expensive for a building, and for all I know, $1 billion is a small amount of money for this type of initiative. I don't have a good benchmark for the true size of $1 billion.
-- phundug, Nov 26 2007
//I don't have a good benchmark for the true size of $1 billion//
Imagine spending $1903 every single minute of every hour of every day for a whole year.
Or nearly $32 every second for the same period.
On the thirteenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Thirteen cessationist colonies
Twelve tribes of Israel
Eleven rubbish footballers
Ten stone Commandments
Nine solar planets
An eight-legged spider
Seven ancient wonders
Six degrees of seperation
A Soviet five-year plan
Four Chinese gangsters
Three Mile Island
A double-barrelled shotgun
With a cartridge loaded for me.
Blackadder: "If I have two beans and I add two more beans, what does that make?"
Baldrick: "A very small casserole."
-- DrBob, Nov 26 2007
A dictionary of regular numbers might start getting repetitive after a while. Perhaps this dictionary should have Prime Number chapter headings, or a Fibonacci index.
And what about irrationals? Or perhaps this is just a dictionary of integers.
On pressing a secret catch in the spine, you could have a pole that sticks out perpendicular to the book-cover that has all the values of i marked out along its length, with little flags denoting all the imaginary things of which there are that many e.g. 325 Unicorns in Hyperborea, 119 Pixies in Mu, and 11 Bo Peepses in Fairyville etc.
-- zen_tom, Nov 26 2007
//Imagine spending $1903 every single minute of every hour of every day for a whole year.//
Sorry, I can't. Probably the easiest examples would concern not oceans and molecules or arbitrary repititions of things that normally don't repeat, but rather the human body or visible objects, e.g. the number of pores on your body or the number of ants in America.
How many fingers am I holding up?
Wow, you must be a teradactyl.
-- 4whom, Nov 26 2007
New Scientist frequently posts examples of these that they've seen in print (usually with a wry comment as to how exactly someone knows how many elephants are equivalent to a double-decker bus...)
I guess with this they'd stop wondering how people know these obscure equivalences!
-- gtoal, Nov 26 2007
Or in terms of lengths/heights of double-decker busses.
Anything to do with jelly beans gets my vote +
-- blissmiss, Nov 26 2007
A number is, among other things, every other number.
-- reensure, Nov 27 2007
//How many fingers am I holding up? //
Grammar (ending with preposition). How many upwardly held fingers do I have?
-- vincevincevince, Nov 27 2007
[vincevince] When the preposition is part of a compound verb, it is allowed. It is not a preposition in this case, actually, it is an adverb.
Be careful when you back the car up.
These grammar problems do me in.
Put that kinetic sculpture down.
When the preposition requires an object, it must not be the thing with which we end the sentence:
Around which building were we supposed to run?
The boy does not know the man with whom he is flinging bricks.
God won't tell us with which planets and stars he is playing marbles.
While "up" in "holding up four fingers" isn't a preposition ("up four fingers is not an adverbial phrase to "holding"), the prohibition against ending sentences with prepositions is wrong is a myth, born from a 17th-century misconception about how language works.
see link.
Pedantry is one thing up with which I will not put.
+ if only we knew how many holes it take to fill the Albert Hall...oh, now we know.
-- xandram, Nov 27 2007
"Which building did he climb up?" is very different from "Which bank did he hold up?"
In the former "up" is a preposition, in the latter it is not. There is a King's English rule against ending the sentence with a true preposition, though we do it colloquially. The former is more properly "Up which building did he climb?" but to our ears this sounds austere, so we change it. Language is malleable. Incidentally, in most European languages this is still a hard rule. For instance, I am sure you would never hear even the "lowest" of German speakers say "Welches Haus ist er versteckt unter?" while we will happily say "Which house is he hiding under?"
At the time where Dryden claimed that ending sentences with a preposition was bad, the practice was already common and correct. The rule was bogus even then.
Make it online and hypertext all the objects. Go from an ant with all the ant stats below:
1 million ants fit in a bathtub.....
then click on bathtub:
1 million bathtubs fit in lake superior...
and so on. Nonetheless [+]
-- daseva, Nov 28 2007
//to our ears this sounds austere, so we change it. //
Unless we like austerity, in which case we maintain it.
//Language is malleable.//
However, the more frequently it's malleted, the less able it is to convey complex and/or unfamiliar ideas intelligibly. The ultimate colloquial language would convey "I belong to this group", "you don't", and no other ideas at all.
-- pertinax, Nov 28 2007
I'm reminded of a long, rambling tale told by my grammar school English teacher in which a primary school child is instructed by his mother to choose a book from the shelf for his story-telling session. The child returns with "Lady Chatterley's Lover" (or somesuch) and the mother asks "What did you get a book like that to be read out of to for?"
-- angel, Nov 28 2007


Meet our Donors! Prosperity Gardens is so thankful to the business and organizational donors who help us grow and flourish. We could not do this without the generous support of our community.
Broeren and Russo Builders Inc.
Meet our partners! Prosperity Gardens works with a number of other organizations and business in the community. We truly understand the power of partnership and strive to work together to strengthen our community.


Panzer III is a project which first saw development during early 30s. During those years, Germany wasn't able to produce heavy tanks, thus many compromises arouse during the initial stages of the build, and many changes followed as well. A, B and C versions of Panzer III were made with relatively weak armor and weak armament. Those were some of the reasons why they were produced only in couple of items each.
The first version that saw greater number of production was D, /still pre-production though/ which features heavier armor, hull and suspension modifications as well as transmission improvements. D model saw some action in Poland and Norway, and was followed by heavily modified E version, which is the first production type. Nevertheless, Ausf. D remains the initial base for the development of Panzer III, and it set the beginning of a long life of that popular German tank.
This is the third kit of pre-production Panzer III that we get from MiniArt, and alongside with B and C, we have a great line of pre-preduction Panzer IIIs, which feature higher number of road wheels and showing the older concept of building tanks before the beginning of WWII.
The kit is highly detailed, and not for unexperienced modelers. It features 1146 parts, from which 71 are phto-etched and 11 are clear. The detail is very nice, the moldings are clear and with high quality. The kit 35169 is made from the new plastic material that MiniArt are going to use from now on /end of Summer 2015/ in order to provide the customer with improved quality and fewer problems.
Sprues seem to be very flexible and soft enough. Actually, that was the only thing missing in MiniArt previous releases. Everything else is here: great quality, attention to detail, clever engineering. Special commendation goes to the turret interior and the tracks engineering. Tracks are closer to an aftermarket item, than to a regular OOTB kit. They consist of a track link, and two pins from each side, which are assembled using a molded tool for alignment and if properly done, they should be fully workable. MiniArt hit a soft spot here, since most of the armor models are usually stripped from high quality tracks, and every advanced modeler is almost forced to get aftermarket sets which usually cost as much /if not more/ as the model itself. With that, Ukrainians added this great bonus to their kits, while in the same time other companies remove it from their sets. Clever thinking!
Castings, springs, hatches – all parts are done from modelers for modelers, and there are only nice things to say about the castings of everything! The turret floor has amazing texture, as well as the fenders, but the insides are the one to be praised highly. They are done with such precision, that extreme weathering becomes an easy job rather than a tedious work.
Everything comes in a nice glossy box, with simple but yet beautiful boxart and a luxury set of instructions with colors and thorough explanations. Pretty much all that you can expect from 21st century scale model kit. The clear parts are also up to date in terms of quality. The thing that exceeded my expectations was the photo-etched sheet. The sheet is thin and flexible, something that you see mostly in aftermarket PE sets, rather than in the box of a plastic model. It probably twice as thin as the PE that you get from some of the competitive companies, and this is worth mentioning.
All of them are Panzer Gray, with not many markings, and mostly small ones in size. They are of course, all featured in the decal sheet. The third option feature big letters "A.F.P.", and we all know that decals are usually problematic when it comes down to armor. However, the decals look nice and thin, and I believe they won't present any difficulties.
With more than 1100 parts in the set, PE, individual track links, 4 marking options and high quality of moldings, this kit goes right in the top options for WWII fans, and especially Wehrmacht admirers. Photo-etched quality, tracks engineering, interior, makes it a more like valuable collector's item, than just-another-Panzer-III kit. The decent price is there too! Around 40 euros per such stuffed box is a bargain!
Having in mind the fact, that the real vehicle was produced in only 30 numbers, and saw relatively little action, it makes it very interesting and attractive set. I would add that, – as mentioned above – it is made from the new plastic material, which means that all the previous troubles we had with MiniArt kits should be gone and this tank will turn out to be a real gem.


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Diversity News Global
Famous Urdu Poetry Collection Finally Uncovered After 50 Years Presumed Destroyed
imd	6 years ago Comments Off on Famous Urdu Poetry Collection Finally Uncovered After 50 Years Presumed Destroyed	840
The original manuscript of Mirza Ghalib's verses, penned in 1821, may have miraculously survived after being reported missing and presumed destroyed almost 50 years ago.
In a thrilling discovery for all lovers of Urdu poetry, the original manuscript of Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib's 'Nuskha-e-Hameediya' may have survived after being reported missing during the India – Pakistan war during the 1940s. The manuscript, dated 1821, was commissioned by Nawab Faujdar Mohammed Khan and penned by the hand of calligrapher Hafiz Mueenuddin, and features some of the most authentic and beautiful Urdu poetry ever written.
An online art gallery and museum named Husaini Arts were the ones to uncover this miraculous discovery. A spokesman for the venture says, "It's truly an incredible find and we're thrilled that we may yet get to read the original manuscript, which is now almost 200 years old. Urdu poetry lovers everywhere will be rejoicing at this news – that the original text can now be added to the canon of work Ghalib worked on."
He adds, "After many years of believing that the manuscript was missing and accepting doctored and amended versions of this work as 'authentic', we can now finally see the genius of Ghalib as it was originally intended."
The manuscript was the first of the nine known manuscripts of the Divans of Ghalib – commissioned when Ghalib was just 24 years of age. Accounts from scholars and publishers say the original manuscript contained almost 1,800 verses – nearly twice the number of verses that were published in the 'authorized' version in 1941. The discovery of these extra verses is very important – fifty years after the death of Ghalib, finding a manuscript with many unknown verses was a huge discovery for the poetry community. Ghalib did not find the omitted verses 'fit for publication', but true poetry lovers were keen to read the missing text.
Later, in 1969, Professor Hamid Ahmed Khan wrote that he examined the manuscript in 1938, but did not keep extensive notes on his thoughts regarding the omitted piece, later going on to publish a 'corrected' version of the poems. By the time the 'corrected' version of the poems had been released, the actual manuscript had disappeared, presumed missing or possibly destroyed during the India – Pakistan division back in 1947. With no original text as evidence, readers had to accept that Professor Khan's version was authentic – until now.
The original Nuskha-e-Hameediya is about to be brought to light, and all those who love Urdu poetry are about to see the true, authentic text that Ghalib first intended to be read by the elite in the 19th century. The discovery of the original manuscript has sparked celebrations in the creative community, especially the researchers on the works of Mirza Ghailb, many of whom are thrilled that the doctored and amended texts will not go down in history as the definitive poems.
For further updates on this ongoing saga, please visit www.husainiarts.com/blog .
Editor's Note: Issued by Dakota Digital. For more information please contact Jade Cayton. Email: jade@dakotadigital.co.uk.
US job market's lingering weak spot: Stagnant pay
Survey shows how to get a raise: Be a white man
Japanese man, 115, becomes world's oldest person
Discrimination potential seen in 'big data' use
Midday work ban puts focus on Gulf labor rights


text:
Q: An inequality on Difference of Entropies Hi,
I have the following problem that came up. It is not a homework problem or something similar. I did my simulations and it seems to hold but i was unable to prove it.## Heading ##
Let $P$ and $Q$ be two discrete probability distributions on the alphabet $\{1,2,\dots n\}$. Prove that:
$H(P)-H(Q) \leq \sum\limits_{i=1}^n \big [ (P_i-Q_i)\log(\frac{1}{\frac{P_i}{e}+(1-\frac{1}{e})Q_i}) \big ]$, where $e$ is the base of the natural log. All entropies are measured in nats.
Thank you very much for your help! Any ideas would be very helpful.

A: If $P=(P_i)$ and $Q=(Q_i)$ are two distributions then $\sum_i P_i\log \frac{1}{Q_i}=H(P)+D(P\|Q)$.
Hence $\sum_i (P_i-Q_i)\log\left(\frac{1}{\frac{P_i}{e}+(1-\frac{1}{e})Q_i}\right)=H(P)-H(Q)+D(P\|R)-D(Q\|R)$, where $R=\frac{1}{e}P+(1-\frac{1}{e})Q$.
So, if we can show that $D(P\|R)-D(Q\|R) \ge 0$, we are done. I hope this can be true from the Pythagorean property of relative entropy of Csiszar.

A: EDIT:  This is wrong -- careless mistake as noted in the comments.  I thought I had deleted it, but here it still is.
Working with the RHS of your inequality we have
\begin{eqnarray}\sum_i (P_i - Q_i) \log{\left(\frac{1}{\frac{P_i}{e} + (1-\frac{1}{e})Q_i}\right)} &=&
\sum_i (P_i - Q_i)\log{\left(\frac{e}{P_i + (e-1)Q_i}\right)}\\\\
& = & \sum_i (P_i - Q_i) (1 - \log{(P_i + (e-1)Q_i)})\\\\
& = & \sum_i (P_i - Q_i) + \sum_i (Q_i - P_i)\log{(P_i + (e-1)Q_i)}\\\\
& = & 1 - 1 + \sum_i (Q_i - P_i)\log{(P_i + (e-1)Q_i)}\\\\\\
& = & \sum_i Q_i \log{(P_i + (e-1)Q_i)} - \sum_i P_i \log{(P_i + (e-1)Q_i)}\\\\\
& \geq & \sum Q_i \log{(Q_i)} - \sum_i P_i \log{(P_i)}\\\\
& =& -\mbox{H}(Q) + \mbox{H}(P).
\end{eqnarray}
The inequality follows from $\log{(P_i)} \leq \log{(P_i + (e-1)Q_i)}$ and $\log{(Q_i)} \leq \log{(P_i + (e-1)Q_i)}$.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
COMMENCAL 2010
COMMENCAL 2010 Team Launch Press Release
April 7th saw COMMENCAL and the Athertons launch their new look team, as the complete family roster prepare for a 2010 season back at full strength.
2008 World Champion Rachel, returns this year after having to sit out last year due to an injury sustained in a training accident. With her form nearing one hundred percent you can be sure she will be in the mix for the overall World Cup title and in medal contention once again at the World Championships in September.
Despite qualifying fastest at Andorra, Slovenia and Fort William last season, Gee found himself on the other steps of the podium too often come the finals. He finished the season in fourth place and is out to better that this year with an ambitious assault on the Downhill overall title, kicking off in full force at the Slovenian hosted first round in May.
Eldest sibling Dan has undertaken a tough winter training schedule, with more emphasis on his speciality Four Cross. Working on his weaknesses from 2009, Dan is now ready to unleash these improvements on the World Cup series.
With the bond between the family and COMMENCAL growing even stronger, the team's relationship has become more involved, allowing greater potential in areas such as product development. The Andorran brand has projects lined up perfect for the expertise and knowledge that the Athertons have gained from six years on the World Cup scene.
Partner sponsors; Animal, Shimano and Fox continue their commitment to the UK based team with their support and supply of quality product.
The alliance with Continental tyres continues into 2010. More than just a sponsor, this partnership is based around the development of Continental's range of Downhill, Four Cross, All-Mountain and Freeride tyres. The team needs the best tyres to win at world level and the continuing work with Continental ensures they will have the product required.
You will no doubt hear the Athertons coming before you see them this year with car audio company Alpine backing the team. Fitted out by Chorley Car Audio, you can be ensured the new race rig will be the highlight of the pits!
The team's strength is reinforced with support for components from Pro, shoes and pedals from Shimano, protection from 661, headsets from Chris King, chain devices from E-13, eyewear from Oakley, tools from Park and lube from Finish Line.
"We're all really looking forward to racing the season as a complete unit again, Rach was sorely missed last year and I am sure her return will be met with the same success we had in her last full season. We have worked closer with our sponsors over the winter and the team is running a tight set up that will ensure the riders have little to worry about during race weekend.' Dan Brown, Team Director
"After these past three years spent together, I would first like to thank Madison, our UK distributor, for all the work they have done with this exceptional team. Without them, this story might never have been started. Today we have reached a new level with the Atherton clan, with their intense passion for riding and a huge motivation to win."Max Commencal
"With a long off season nearly coming to an end I'm super excited about getting involved in the race scene again. All 3 of us thrive off the competitive side of racing and with the calendar stacked with great courses it will doubtless be an awesome year."
Gee Atherton
Posted in: News, People


During one of the coldest winters we have had in some time, one is hard pressed to find anything in bloom at this time of year - BUT - EUREKA, something was found and this is a plant that is a winter superstar and worthy for all to consider in your landscapes. It is GERMANDER (Teucrium fruiticans).
Even after a hard freeze of upper teens and snowfall this winter, this evergreen shrub continues to bloom with lavender blue salvia-like flowers through the winter months (but bloom sporadically during other seasons). To add to its desirability, it comes in bush and creeping growth forms so can be used as an ornamental shrub or ground cover. It also comes in a grayish green or a silver-leaved color.
The small ovate ½ inch leaves are opposite along the branches and provide a nice southwestern garden appearance. The bush Germander will grow to 4-6' high and wide and any overly ambitious shoots can be easily trimmed to maintain a compact shape. Flowers are borne on new growth. As if these virtues aren't enough, it is also deer resistant and is drought resistant. This past summer heat had no ill effect on this plant.
Give this plant a try in your landscape or garden. You will be well pleased!


Two weeks after the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968, Black priests declared the Catholic Church in the United States "a white racist institution." This provocative proclamation sparked a revolution that known as the Black Catholic Movement, one with the potential to forever change the face of U.S. Catholicism. Dr. Matthew Cressler will unpack the history of this movement and illuminate its implications for us today.
Dr. Matthew J. Cressler is assistant professor of religious studies at the College of Charleston (South Carolina). His teaching and research areas include African American religions, Catholic studies, religion in America, and theory in the study of religion, with a special interest in the intersection of religion, race, and nationalism. Dr. Cressler specializes in Black Catholic history and has published Authentically Black and Truly Catholic: The Rise of Black Catholicism in the Great Migration (NYU Press, 2017).


How to adjust the camera position while you install the camera?
There are three screws on the bracket. You use the L shape wrench to unscrew them, to position the right angle of the camera fit your needs.


The programs, funds, activities and initiatives of the New York Chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier are managed by our Board of Directors. It is comprised of chapter leaders who are elected by the membership each fall.
Professional Skills: Communicator and Marketer of food, fine wine and hospitality; a public relations professional, who believes in an integrated approach that brings culture to life through tourism and culinary experiences.
Proudest Accomplishment: Two grown sons, who are not only outstanding professionals (veterinary surgeon; biotech executive), but also caring individuals and committed amateur cooks.
Fun Fact: My cousin was the late Dr. Phoebus Levene, an American biochemist who discovered the components of DNA. Perhaps my love of food, wine and hospitality has its genesis in DNA mapping!
Fun Fact: "I cook on a 67-year old Magic Chef range with an oven that has to be lit with a match!"
Proudest Accomplishment: Raising our beautiful daughter, and becoming a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier NY.
Favorite Place to Visit: Anywhere in New York and Cape Cod and Italy.
Fun Fact: My life's path was totally unplanned but meant to be!
Job Title: President, Beth Allen Associates, Inc.
Proudest Accomplishment: Married John Allen (with the same last name as mine) over twenty-five years ago and still happily married.
Favorite Place to Visit: Paris, where I attended cooking school, returned for my honeymoon and celebrated several holidays.
Proudest Accomplishment: Professionally becoming a partner at Abigail Kirsch Catering. Personally being the aunt, great aunt and sister to the most wonderful people I know!
Favorite Place to Visit: Any urban city in the world with great food, great wine, great culture and most importantly great shopping!
Favorite Food: Pickles & Oysters…or…Pickled Oysters!
Proudest Accomplishment: Is still in the works: raising my children.
Favorite Place to Visit: Just one? Impossible. I will find a path to meander, hopefully with hills, and I will explore it with pleasure.
Favorite Food: Chocolate and anything I grow in my garden but not necessarily together.
Fun Fact: My maiden and married names merge to be Goodvino, perfect for a wine professional!
Proudest Accomplishment: Cooking by the Book! And my sour dough bread.
Job Title: Owner/president of Cooking with Class, Inc.
Proudest Accomplishment: Two successful accomplished children.
Fun Fact: I'm an ordained Steven Minister.
Proudest Accomplishment: Raising a thoughtful, caring son to adulthood and finishing my career as an educator.
Favorite Place to Visit: Paris, my husband's birthplace and anywhere near the ocean.
Favorite Food: Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate!
Fun Fact: I was a private chef to a famous rock and roll magazine editor in the early 1980s.
Proudest Accomplishment: Life in the culinary world is truly an accumulation of many accomplishments. Opening La Palapa Taco Bar this past year was a testament to that! Proud to be Co-Founder and Director of The San Miguel Poetry Week, and Delegate of the New York Chapter of the Conservatorio de La Gastronomía Mexicana.
Fun Fact: I studied Anthropolgy – which is very useful when explaining Mexican culture and cuisine!
Favorite Place to Visit: Paris and Park City, UT as I have a grandchild in each city!
Favorite Food: I shouldn't admit it — but French fries!
Favorite Place to Visit: Paris, where I can enjoy all the Brie and baguette I want and not gain an ounce!


A 73-year-old Japanese woman climbed to Mount Everest's peak today, smashing her own record to again become the oldest woman to scale the world's highest mountain.
Tamae Watanabe reached Everest's 29,035-foot-high summit from the northern side of the mountain in Tibet on Saturday morning with four other team members, said Ang Tshering of the China Tibet Mountaineering Association in Nepal.
Watanabe had climbed Everest in 2002 at the age of 63 to become the oldest woman to scale the mountain. She had retained the title until she topped herself a decade later.
Tshering said Watanabe and the other team members are in good condition and are on their way back to the base of the mountain.
Watanabe and her team left the last high altitude camp located at 27,225 feet last night and climbed all night before reaching the summit this morning.
Weather conditions have improved on the mountains this week.
Teams have begun reaching the summit even from the Nepalese side in the southern of the mountain, according to Nepal's mountaineering department.
The first teams from the Nepalese side reached the summit yesterday, and many more reached the summit this morning.
Weather conditions on the mountain have been challenging this year, prompting several expeditions to cancel their plans to try to reach the summit.
May is considered the best month to climb Everest, when climbers get about two windows of good weather for their bid for the summit.
Silversea unveils new details of Silver Origin, the cruise line's first ever destination-specific ship.


text:
Unlocking the value of big data
Moving beyond Hadoop for big data needs
Cloudera CEO: We're taking Hadoop beyond MapReduce
Williams-Sonoma uses big data to zero in on customers
Think Big Data
By Andrew Lampitt, InfoWorld |
Big data drives high performance for Cars.com
Analysis of Web user clickstreams and machine-generated log files helps auto shopping site Cars.com increase revenue and defend against malicious bots
Web businesses have long realized that a direct line can be drawn between revenue and the quality of user experience. Measuring that experience on a wide scale has become a leading big data analytics endeavor, one embraced by Cars.com. By analyzing data from 12 million monthly website visits, the company is optimizing the user experience for its shoppers -- and gaining deep operational insight and fraud prevention capability in the bargain.
As a website for car shoppers to find, learn about, and purchase vehicles, Cars.com earns fees on car sales along with revenue from banner advertising surrounding content on thousands of cars, trucks, SUVs, and vans from all major manufacturers. With a fast user interface, shoppers spend more time on the site and, thus, are more likely to buy vehicles and click on banner ads.
[ Download the Big Data Analytics Deep Dive for a comprehensive, practical overview of this booming field. | Harness the power of Hadoop with the 7 top tools for taming big data. | InfoWorld's Log Analysis Deep Dive PDF special report shows how effective collection and analysis of log files can help you improve security, troubleshooting, compliance, and systems management. ]
Cars.com's application management team has three key goals for its website: maintaining high performance, protecting content, and tracking traffic sources for advertisers. Behind the scenes, bot and spider traffic is a persistent menace that degrades website performance. Some malicious bots also scrape content such as vehicle listings for use by spammers on fake sites to lure unsuspecting consumers into giving up personal details.
Log files hold the key to identifying malicious activity and optimizing performance, but acquiring all that weblog traffic data and analyzing it manually is immensely cumbersome and time-consuming. Without real-time reports, the team resorted to overprovisioning its server infrastructure to ensure that fast page load speeds could be maintained consistently.
Cars.com turned to Splunk to collect, index, search, and analyze machine-generated big data sets from a wide variety of sources in real time. At its core, Splunk's patented "machine data web" organizes and understands log data. Splunk also includes prebuilt reports to help the team identify illicit scraping and bot traffic as separate and distinct from legitimate visitor traffic. The reports have become valuable sales tools -- and powerful support tools for internal stakeholders to take appropriate measures against unwanted traffic.
Tangible return on investment is realized in two ways. First, efficient, real-time data collection saves more than 400 man-hours annually. Second, it aids in accommodating peak traffic periods. During the 2012 Super Bowl, for example, detailed performance statistics provided operational insight that reduced server and administration costs by approximately $160,000.
Splunk has "enabled us to tackle a larger set of problems in less time," explains Jon Abend, manager of technical operations. "Beyond Web logs, in real-time we can now easily analyze application logs, application servers, middleware components, system metric logs, etc. The variety of types of users -- performance engineers, middleware teams, search engine marketing teams, etc. -- may not have been so broad without this ability to manage an equally broad variety of systems."
Since early this year, the big data environment at Cars.com has managed more than 35 terabytes of data. It adds 2.5 million weblogs per hour, representing an additional terabyte per week, and handles more than 750 million queries per month. With that kind of big data analytic insight, Cars.com is sure to remain in the fast lane for a long time to come.
This article, "Big data drives high performance for Cars.com," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of Andrew Lampitt's Think Big Data blog, and keep up on the latest developments in big data at InfoWorld.com For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.


What does it mean to be a Baptist? Eileen Campbell-Reed's retelling of the Baptist story is refreshing. For the Baptist newcomer, Campbell-Reed shares the reasons why we are as we have become and offers a positive sense of direction for growth in Christian faith and church life. She encourages experienced Baptists to live their faith traditions anew.


text:
class Settings
    cattr_accessor :defaults
    include SettingFunctional::Method
    extend SettingFunctional::Method

    def initialize(target = nil)
        @target = target
    end
end


Mary describes Rome as a city that takes what it wants and gives very little in return although in the modern era we tend to think that we got our language from Latin, good roads and an education system. But the Romans had no altruistic ideas, medicine was developed to serve the army and keep the troops functioning, education was designed to elevate the idea of Rome and the Empire.
The rulers and their friends lived in the lap of luxury but suffered greatly and of course the Empire was not to last. In fact it is one of the shorter lived empires that ever existed yet the Roman ideas persist in the modern world largely because people are so disconnected with the truth of life which was prevalent in India, a civilisation that has existed for thousands of years.
Anyone with an interest in history must watch these videos and note carefully the words of Mary Beard because she describes a great folly and an addiction to temporary pleasure that grips the modern world. From these videos and many other historical studies it can easily be seen that violent means cannot be used to create a sustainable civilisation. While Romanised European ideas still dominate the world, the cycle of violence continues and the cycles of greed and destruction threaten all life on earth.
The Romans adopted the ideas of those they conquered yet it seems unlikely that they knew where those ideas originated. The existence of sewerage systems and public baths existed in Harappa thousands of years before Rome came into being, but like all the knowledge that gave rise to Western technology, it came from India.
Rome represents the idea that the world can be controlled and manipulated for personal pleasure and the strongest or perhaps we should save the smartest and most manipulative rules. This is the example of Adharma in action, pain and suffering begets pain and suffering then finally extinction.
In contrast the Hindu idea of Dharma embodies peacefulness, understanding and cooperation which creates a lasting civilisation.
Images from Youtube and Mary's other series, Rome: Empire Without Limit is also on Youtube.