Contract Work has been keeping me busy the past two months, so I haven't found the time to post any updates on this blog until today.
Still Alive, just not Blogging!
The internet is short lived – and people ask if you gave up on a project the moment you aren't blogging about it daily (and spend your time working on it instead for example).
So here is a quick check-in-slash-update-slash-still-alive ping!
The post will be short and possibly full of typos – I'm still knee deep in contracting work and hard pressed to divide my time equally between work, play, work on side projects and sleep. The latter is drawing the short straw almost every night.
Ian and I had a great chat on Twitter and thanks to his article I learned about Tolk. Tolk is a screen reader abstraction library.
See, on Windows there is more than just one screen reader – users get to choose which one they prefer. Or which one they can afford. JAWS for example has a price tag around $1000.
Instead of writing custom code to support every potential screen reader out there, software could simply include Tolk. This greatly reduces the amount of code one has to write. Tolk then does the actual interfacing with the various screen readers. It currently supports six different screen readers.
As for the core of the plugin, the basic functionality of the plugin is complete for mobile. That doesn't mean the plugin is ready to be released, just that it is working and usable. While that sounds like almost the same thing, it really is not. There is lots of code cleanup and refactoring to be done.
A screenshot of my test user interface.
The scroll lists actually turned out to be quite tricky and need a little more coding love to handle special use cases. But that might actually deserve a blog post all on its own.
Still alive, still eating cake and still working on this plugin!
Surprise: Blind users have established interface conventions, too!
You want to delete a file from your computer. A dialog pops up on your screen and a text message asks: "Are you sure?". Below the text are two rectangular shaped gray areas. One reads "OK" and the other "Cancel".
Raise your hand if you know how to click the OK button.
Did you know that you need to move your mouse cursor over the rectangle that reads "OK", – and then, while hovering over it, click the left button on your mouse exactly one time?
Well of course you did!
We all know the basics of navigating user interfaces. We know to left-click on buttons, and to right-click for context menus. We use the mouse wheel and expect a page to scroll. We instinctively search for the close button in the upper corner of a window.
Those are established user interface conventions – and they are a good thing.
As a developer, it means not having to explain the interface basics to your users. You can safely assume that players know how to activate the button labeled "Play" in your main menu. You can just focus on teaching your players the rules of your actual gameplay.
Surprise: Blind users have interface conventions, too!
It shouldn't come as a big surprise that such interface navigation conventions exist for blind users as well.
It shouldn't – but it seems that it does.
Often enough, when developers do go the extra mile to add blind accessibility to their games, they create their own interface navigation rules. One of their sighted programmers will spend an afternoon thinking about how it could work and then implement it. If he's pressed for time he might not even look at how other games did it before. As a result, these games start out by reading a page of instructions to their users at the beginning. And that is about as exciting as reading a phone book.
Not only is it boring to listen to instructions. Breaking conventions can also lead to losing users and turning them away from your app. Consider this: Every app that does this has their own navigation scheme. A blind user has to learn the quirks of each one and then try not to forget as they switch apps. Maybe they will remember the important basics, but if a game implements special gestures for things not used very often, let's say for Pause for example, it will quickly be forgotten.
You don't ask your sighted users to press Ctrl-K to click buttons, or right-click to scroll text, do you?
The same should be true for making your menus accessible. Don't reinvent the wheel, don't invent your own navigation scheme. Go with what's already established.
Remember – in order to even start your app, the blind user will have to navigate to it and activate somehow. They know how to do that. They are already using an interface. If your app could be navigated the same way that the user navigated their operating system, you wouldn't need instructions at all.
Not building on what users already know is creating an unnecessary entry barrier. And for blind users especially, more barriers is the last thing they need.
For mobile accessibility, the conventions have pretty much been established by Apple, because their VoiceOver screen reader is the gold standard. The majority of blind smart phone and tablet users are using Apple devices, and these devices are running VoiceOver.
The folks at Apple have done a great job with VoiceOver. Apple received an Access Award from the American Foundation for the Blind in 2009 and a Helen Keller Achievement Award in 2015, and the Bray Award for Accessibility Innovation in 2016 from the American Council of the Blind.
Whether you are an Apple fan or hater, following the really simple interface conventions from VoiceOver is a good place to start.
Whether you implement your own system or go with established conventions is ultimately up to you, of course. If there is one thing to be said about blind mobile users, it's that they are incredibly patient and resilient. If your game is good, heck, even if it is just OK, they will probably be willing to jump through the hoops of learning how to navigate your menus either way.
A sighted user will uninstall a game within seconds if he finds the controls frustrating. There are enough other games out there – the Google Play store counted 2 million apps in February 2016 (Source: Statista.com). Blind users don't have that option. It won't surprise you to hear that the number of accessible games is extremely limited.
But that number is growing.
There around 21 million blind or visually impaired people over the age of 18 in the US alone (Source: AFB). In my opinion it's one of the few customer groups still left in the mobile market that aren't yet over-saturated with games. In other words, there is money to be made. The challenge to create games specifically for the blind is also attractive to game designers. If it's financially viable and artistically interesting… all that's left is the technical barrier.
And the easier it gets to create accessible apps and games, the more developers will happily take up the task. I hope that my plugin will help with that as well. This is a good thing, because everybody wins. Blind people get more software and more developers can make a living doing what they love.
There will come a time when blind users have a choice. They will have the freedom that we sighted users already have: The freedom to be impatient.
And unless a game has outstanding gameplay – those apps with unusual and tricky interfaces will be the first to be ignored.
Remember that time pressed programmer I mentioned, who implemented her own accessible menus without regards to existing conventions? Yeah, that was me. I created an elaborate interface system, based on long taps and circular menus. But I've learned my lesson earlier this year and deleted all that code. I found a forum with lots of blind gamers and asked them for their help and feedback, and got plenty. It's when my idea to write a plugin for Unity was born. If you would like to see just how helpful this huge community is, here is the link to the original forum thread.
As of today, the Unity Accessibility Plugin has a new feature: Explore By Touch!
Explore By Touch is an accessibility feature on smartphones that let's blind users run their finger over the screen – and the screen reader will read out what's under their fingertip. The screen reader also makes sure that no buttons are accidentally pressed or an app is started unintentionally. This works on both Google TalkBack and iOS VoiceOver.
This was my original impression of Explore By Touch. Typical rookie mistake of a sighted person.
I originally thought that this is one feature that I wouldn't need to re-create for the accessibility plugin, because I figured that no one would be using it much. I assumed no one wanted to blindly poke around on the screen to discover buttons. Why would anyone do that when swiping left and right navigates safely through the user interface?
Think again, you sighted fool!
As we all know, making blind assumptions is a bad thing. Pun intended.
Why would anyone use Explore By Touch?
The answer is simple. Because it is faster!
Navigating menus is a necessity, not fun. Doing it slowly by stepping through all elements on the screen one by one doesn't make it any better.
If you already roughly know where a button is located, then using Explore By Touch is the next best thing to actually seeing where it is and clicking it directly.
Sure, the first time you get hit with a new menu, you might just trigger the Read From Top function and have the entire screen read out to you. But after that, you can poke around and find out where things are. And being blind doesn't mean you cannot remember roughly where a button is located on the screen.
I wouldn't have come to this conclusion if I hadn't received some very clear feedback from an actually blind person, who straight up told me the plugin would be pretty much useless without Explore By Touch. His opinion matched what I read in an article by Matt Gemmel in which he covers Myths about visually impaired users. After that I put my phone back in accessibility mode for a while and ultimately had to agree. It made me want that feature, too.
I am happy to announce that my plugin's Explore By Touch is now fully functional.
Also: Thank you for your honest feedback, Scott!


text:
Hike with a Homeless Dog event promotes exercise, dog adoption
Ted Randich pets Karen on Saturday, March 23, 2019, for Wright Way Animal Rescue's "Hike with a Homeless Dog" event at Giant City State Park.
Carson VanBuskirk | @carsonvanbDE
By Emily Cooper, Staff Reporter
Giant City State Park partnered with Wright-Way Animal Rescue for the biannual "Hike with a Homeless Dog" event where volunteers around the southern Illinois area walk the trails with a dog from the shelter.
"We've done four of these before," Jennifer Randolph-Bollinger, natural resources coordinator for the park, said. "A few years ago, I was doing research online and came across a state park in Texas that was doing something that was called 'Hike with a Homeless Dog,' so I looked into it a little more, and thought it would be a perfect fit for Giant City."
The event is a great way to get the dogs outside and get them some exercise as well as getting people outside, Randolph-Bollinger said.
The possibility for an adoption is just icing on the cake.
"We usually have about 25 dogs," Randolph-Bollinger said. "We offer two different sessions. We'll do a 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and an 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., 50 people usually register. We have several more that call that we put on a waitlist. Wright-Way has several volunteers that come out to help unload the dogs."
Randolph-Bollinger said she knows the owners of Wright-Way, so she thought it would be a great fit for them to come out.
Erin Ellison, a staff member at Wright-Way, said Wright-Way is a non-profit, no-kill rescue which is located off of Old Highway 13, between Carbondale and Murphysboro.
"The goal is always 25 [dogs], but I believe we have 29 this year, that does include four alumni dogs that have been previously been adopted out, but they're still here to enjoy the nice weather," Ellison said.
She said it takes a couple weeks to plan out an event like this.
"We have to make sure that we have volunteers, staff, dogs and getting all of our gear together to get out here," Ellison said.
She said this event is a good opportunity to get Wright-Way's name out there.
"It seems like a lot of people don't know who Wright-Way is, but when we come out here we get a lot of support," Ellison said.
She said this event is good for the dogs socially because they get to see what it is like having a family who takes them out on hikes.
"This year we have NCCC AmeriCorps that is here, and they're here from all over the United States that have been helping me in the park," Randolph-Bollinger said. "They came today, and it's a good opportunity for them as well."
Americorps NCCC is a full-time, residential, team-based program for young adults, age 18-24, which does national and community service, Riley Hipp, Americorps NCCC team member, said.
"Why we're here is simply because it's a service learning opportunity," Hipp said. "This is something we want to do because there's so many valuable resources and people here."
Hipp said their group didn't have to do this, but they wanted to because they worked with dogs.
"This event benefits the dogs because it gives them exercise and potentially a future home," Randolph-Bollinger said. "It's a win-win situation for both the volunteers and the dogs."
Since it is such a popular program, there will be another "Hike with a Homeless Dog," in September, and people can find information on Illinois department of natural resources website for Giant City.
"I would say sign up as soon as possible, we already have people calling for September," Randolph-Bollinger said. "The sooner the better."
Staff reporter Emily Cooper can be reached at ecooper@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @ecooper212.
Americorps NCCC
biannual
Erin Ellison
giant city state park
Jennifer Randolph-Rollinger
Riley Hipp
Wright Way
"Hike with a Homeless Dog
Legalized weed for the Illinoisan
Dispensaries in southern Illinois thrive with new legislation as supplies run short
Free of fee? Carbondale city council discusses parking
Carbondale Warming Center finds permanent location
Arnold's Market is closing after 47 years
Carbondale City Council approves solar panels
It takes a village: Carbondale community comes together to discuss gun violence
Animal Report: Ink your body and help an animal
The history of the African American History Museum
Suspect in murder of 27-year-old Carbondale man arrested

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Downloading a remote image gives error : stream.js:94 Error: ENOENT, open 'path/to/file' I'm trying to download a remote image and save it in the images folder on my server.
I get the error Error: ENOENT, open 'path/to/file'
I use:
function download (uri, filename, callback) {
  request.head(uri, function(err, res, body){
    var r = request(uri).pipe(fs.createWriteStream(filename));
    r.on('close', callback);
  });
};

var imgURL = "http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/711375main_grail20121205_4x3_946-710.jpg"

var newImgName = "/images/imageName.jpg"
// If I do var newImgName = "imageName.jpg", it works.

download(imgURL, newImgName, function () {
  console.log('Done downloading..');
});

A: Because there is a slash at the beginning of the newImgName, it's trying to put the image in the images folder in the root of your hard drive. If you're trying to put it in the images folder where your code is, try this:
var newImgName = "./images/imageName.jpg";

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Alfons Mayer (* 1. Februar 1938 in Weiler im Allgäu, Deutsches Reich; † 2. November 2021 in Kitchener, Ontario) war ein kanadischer Sportschütze.

Karriere
Alfons Mayer gewann bei den Panamerikanischen Spielen 1967 in Winnipeg Gold im Kleinkalibergewehr-Einzel und Silber im Mannschaftswettkampf. Bei den Olympischen Spielen 1968 belegte er im 50 m Kleinkalibergewehr Dreistellungskampf den 38. Platz. Drei Jahre später folgten bei seinen zweiten Panamerikanischen Spielen in Cali zwei Bronzemedaillen. Bei den Olympischen Spielen 1972 in München nahm Mayer sowohl im 50 m Kleinkalibergewehr Dreistellungskampf als auch im Wettkampf über 50 m liegend teil. 1975, 1979 und 1983 folgten zwei weitere Silber- und drei Bronzemedaillen bei Panamerikanischen Spielen, dabei unter anderem eine Silbermedaille im Mannschaftswettkampf mit dem Luftgewehr 1983.

Weblinks

Sportschütze (Kanada)
Olympiateilnehmer (Kanada)
Teilnehmer der Olympischen Sommerspiele 1968
Teilnehmer der Olympischen Sommerspiele 1972
Panamerikaspielesieger (Sportschießen)
Teilnehmer an den Panamerikanischen Spielen (Kanada)
Deutscher Emigrant in Kanada
Kanadier
Deutscher
Geboren 1938
Gestorben 2021
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Emerging Trends in Real Estate: Urban Land Institute and PwC find post-pandemic leap in confidence while coming to terms with the longer-term COVID-19 impact and structural changes
Business confidence in real estate sector hits highest level since 2014.
Profound changes to the business of real estate are foreseen following changing consumer demands, digitalisation and an ever-stronger ESG agenda, although the real impact is yet to be seen.
London tops overall city rankings for 2022, leading over Berlin and Paris
Logistics and residential top sector prospects rankings alongside alternative asset types – new energy infrastructure, life sciences and data centres
Need for organisational transformation embracing technology, skills and ESG is a key priority according to 68% of real estate leaders.
Emerging Trends in Real Estate® Europe 2022, the 19th annual survey by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PwC of European real estate sector leaders' expectations for the year ahead, finds a significant leap in confidence going into next year, although the longer-term outlook is characterised by uncertainty with many still coming to terms with the radical changes to the business of real estate brought about or accelerated by COVID-19.
The report, based on the views of 844 property professionals, records the highest levels of business confidence since 2014 and a doubling in positive outlooks since the same time last year, reflecting a broad sense of relief and short-term optimism that the industry has remained resilient during the pandemic and that real estate remains a favoured asset class. Around half of respondents think that business confidence (52%), profitability (49%) and headcounts (53%) will rise in 2022.
For many, this means the performance of real estate looks relatively strong for 2022 with higher forecast returns than a year ago. This level of confidence is further supported by continuing strong investor demand with both the availability of debt and equity expected to be plentiful, albeit with significant differences between sectors, depending on which performed well during the pandemic and those that suffered significantly.
However, there is also a sense that the short-term relief around getting back to a more normal business environment is masking uncertainty and volatility in the mid-term. ULI Europe CEO Lisette van Doorn comments: "European real estate is coming to learn that the exit from the pandemic is not a straight line. There is pent-up demand from which to benefit but it also needs to get to grips with what 'restarting the economy' really means. The current uncertainties are reflected into quite strong sentiment swings while, at the same time, the industry is struggling to interpret the potential impact issues like supply chain disruptions, surging energy costs and labour shortages will have on real estate and how long these issues might last."
In the short-term, the greatest wider business uncertainties relate to cybersecurity at 67% of respondents and a mix of inflation (59%) and interest rates (55%). The most concerning real estate business issues for 2022 are construction costs and resource availability (88%), availability of suitable land and assets (66%), sustainability and decarbonisation requirements (61%). Many of these concerns will impact construction prices and delivery schedules, just at a time when the industry wants to resume delayed developments or advance repurposing initiatives.
This uncertainty also grows for the longer-term with the knowledge that the industry needs to restructure for resilience on many fronts including adopting an ever-stronger ESG agenda, digitalisation, as well as changes to business and financial models. "Looking further ahead to the next three to five years, uncertainty dominates, not only because of massive structural change accelerated by COVID-19, but also concerns backdrop for social and political risks will remain high over the longer term," says van Doorn.
Against this mix of uncertainty and relief, 59% of survey participants expect to be net buyers of real estate assets. This is up on last year (55%), partly reflecting the confidence factor and partly the inherent attraction of real estate versus other asset classes.
Angus Johnston, UK and EMEA Real Estate Leader at PwC, said:
"Having hopefully seen the worst of the pandemic, real estate businesses are looking forward with confidence. A major part of the recovery and future shape of the industry in Europe will be driven by the response to Net Zero and the ESG agenda more broadly. The challenges here are every bit as large as those associated with finding the post pandemic new normal. There is a great opportunity here for the industry to play a major role in finding new sustainable ways for how we live and work."
European cities overall prospects 2022 - top ten
London comes top overall for investment and development prospects in European city rankings, ahead of second place Berlin and reversing last year's top two positions. Paris remains in third place.
The UK capital benefits from the depth of its market and undoubted gateway status, but this year a widely perceived yield gap of around 1% between London offices and their continental equivalent gives it an advantage in value for money. Individual comments suggest confidence in London's ability to reinvent itself as a base for technology and life sciences.
Berlin, in second place, shares the robust economy and transparency of the other German cities in the top 10, while having its own distinct appeal, particularly for international investors. Like last year, Paris ranks third, reflecting its gateway status.
Sector prospects in 2022 - top ten
The pandemic has reinforced the trend of investors targeting sectors that profit from megatrends, operate anti-cyclically, and continue to generate resilient income. From a traditional sector perspective, this favours logistics and most forms of housing, although investors are aware that housing remains politically sensitive.
However, it is the niche sectors that have dominated the top end of the list even though they are currently a small part of the market. New energy infrastructure topped the sector rankings followed by life sciences with data centres also garnering enthusiasm among investors.
At the same time, there is no consensus yet on the future of offices, with some respondents enthusiastic about the future of flexible, prime assets, while others envisage an inevitable contraction in overall demand. There will be a lasting increase in time worked remotely, according to 85%, while 82% see a continuing role for HQ buildings in conveying culture and attracting talent and 74% see a growing valuation gap between primary and secondary offices.
The sector rankings clearly signal a direction of travel as part of a longer-term and fundamental shift into more operational real estate that the industry is navigating while making the most of the immediate economic upturn. At the same time, it demonstrates a more granular approach to real estate investing, drilling down into the specifics of subsectors when making asset allocation decisions.
Organisational change key priority for majority industry leaders
In recent years, Emerging Trends Europe has identified the growing importance of operational assets but also the need for far greater emphasis on customer service, reputation, technology, an increasingly pressing environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda and diversity in the workplace.
With all these changes in flux, this year's survey showed that organisational transformation is a key five-year priority for 68% of respondents, driven by evolving relationships between landlords and tenants in every sector. The strongest influences are real estate as a service and changing customer demands, both cited by 89% of respondents. The third-ranked influence with 81% is the ESG agenda.
However, despite a need to attract new skills to the industry, only 49% of respondents see the 'war for talent' as a driver, but expansion of the skills base is seen as fundamental to a meaningful and lasting organisational change by 73%. Interviewees said that talent is needed from outside the real estate industry to integrate technology, ESG and service culture.
Technology itself is seen as critical to transformation by an even higher 92%. Greater diversity should be a natural consequence of importing new skills, with 70% regarding it as important in transformation.
The report questions the industry's ability to adapt at the speed and intensity required, identifying an "entrenchment" reflected in the view of 83% of respondents that existing culture is the greatest barrier to change in their organisations. A mismatch in responses, particularly in recognition of the skills needed to integrate technology, suggests an industry willing to change but that does not yet know how to effect that change.
PwC UK
Diana Yeboah - Manager, media relations, London, PwC UK
Urban Land Institute
Chris Harris, Vice President, Communications
About the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute is a non-profit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the institute has more than 45,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land us and development disciplines.
ULI has over 4,000 members in Europe across 15 National Council country networks. For more information, please visit europe.uli.org, follow us on Twitter or follow our LinkedIn page.


Frequently asked questions on ModernView Decking and composite decking materials.
Learn everything you want to know about cleaning composite lumber decks here! Pressure washing chat forums for pressure washing contractors.
wood plastic machine. Cheap Composite Decking Materials. In recent years, many people are spending most of their time outdoors working on their homes.


Once again, I have limited time.
3. It sometimes does get hot.
4. Scottish drivers are mad.
Yesterday I slept in very late which was good. I think it balanced out my jet lag. Lewi and I got up around 1 and went to pick up Stevie at his house. The three of us when to Kirstine's house (pronounced KAR-steen) and played with her wee rat Charlie Brown. Then we went to Fiona's house to see Mark Henry (the Teen Challenge guy that I corresponded with when I came home last time. He's now out of the program and engaged to Fiona who is absolutely beautiful.) Yet when we got to Fiona's mother's house they'd just left to Fiona's. So we went there and I saw Mark. The surprise was excellent. He looked at me for a minute, probably expected an introduction then said "No way! Praise God!" (in a Scottish accent). It was great. By then it was late and we had to get to a praise and worship thing that Lewi and Kirstine and some others had to do and to make a long story short, we were an hour late and when we got there we still didn't have a bass player so Stevie who is not an insured driver took Lewi's car and drove like a madman all over Paisley and we picked up Sarah one of the singers and Martin the bass player and were another hour late.
The praise and worship was great. It was at a drug rehab center and those guys/girls know how to praise Jesus! It was a wonderfully uplifting time for me. God is amazing.
Today we're going into Glasgow for some shopping and whatnot. But I gotta go. Lewi wants the computer. Oh and Robin came in yesterday so it was neat to see him.
I miss you all tons!!!!!


text:
Does Netflix Care if you use a VPN?
Written by Francky in vpn
Netflix. We all know Netflix as it is the world's largest subscription-based streaming service but did you know that there are shows and movies which remain exclusive to certain regions of the world? The reason is because Netflix has not purchased the proper license for each and every movie or show that remains under their banner.
To get around this predicament, some people have employed the use of a VPN (virtual private network) so that they can access that region-locked content that they are craving. This begs the question though: how does Netflix feel about the use of VPNs?
Get the best VPN
The Short Answer:
In a nutshell, the use of a VPN (which is a private and encrypted network) to access content that would otherwise be unavailable conflicts with Netflix's established and user-agreed upon terms and conditions. The consequence of breaching this agreement may result in your account being blocked from doing so.
The Long Answer:
Because Netflix has not purchased the required global distribution licenses for every single morsel of content available on their platform, specific shows and movies may only be accessible by subscribers who are living in certain regions around the world. Thus, VPNs have been employed by viewers who are seeking access to that restricted content and, as a result, Netflix has employed countermeasures to block the use of VPNs.
Users may find the streaming giant to have blocked said restricted content from playing which is yet another example of how utilizing a VPN goes against Netflix's terms and conditions. The use of a VPN may ultimately cost Netflix money (in relation to the licensing costs) and could lead to friction between the streaming service and some of the companies who produce the content offered on the platform.
The better option may be to find that locked digital content elsewhere so as to not run into any unnecessary issues. As a result, it seems best for subscribers to stick with the current slate of offerings that Netflix offers for their respective region as it is not worth breaching the user agreement and potentially putting one's account in jeopardy.
OUR VPN CHOICE
Be sure to get great value for your money!
**** 1. Ivacy - Great for all VPN purposes! ****
**** 2. NordVPN - The bigger the better! 5485 servers in 59 countries! ****
**** 3. Hidden24 VPN - Best UK VPN! ****
**** 4. SurfShark - The best VPN for Netflix! ****
**** 5. FastestVPN - The name says a lot! (Good prices on longer deals!) ****
User comment about how great Netflix is with a VPN
VPN and Netflix
Many people are using VPN for Netflix and vice versa. VPN and Netflix are well known for their ability to access Netflix from various countries and regions, as well as being able to watch different kinds of movies.
However, users can also watch movies from various other countries, including France, Japan and the UK. Furthermore, SurfShark is the first VPN service to provide simultaneous connections.
My VPN is SurfShark
This means that a user can watch two different movies from the same country at the same time by using SurfShark. It also gives users peace of mind, as they know that no matter where they are in the world, they are able to view their favorite Netflix movie.
SurfShark also gives users easy access to multiple websites. Thus, if you are watching your favorite TV series and want to go to YouTube to watch some videos, surfshark allows you to do this.
With SurfShark, you can access multiple websites in one easy step. You can start surfing the net, and then log into your favorite Netflix website and watch the movie you want to watch. As with any VPN, surfshark offers a free trial period so you can try it out for yourself.
Do I use a VPN? Yes of course! I've been online for many years, and I have used multiple different VPN services over now and in the past. Be clever and use a good VPN all the time.
link to Top 7 Best VPN for Multiple Devices
Top 7 Best VPN for Multiple Devices
A virtual private network, or VPN for short, is a program that is created to give you the privacy and anonymity that you always wanted online by connecting you to a private network. VPNs hide your...
link to Best Vpn in Abu Dhabi
Best Vpn in Abu Dhabi
If you are looking for the best Vpn in Abu Dhabi then here is a short guide to the best Vpn in Abu Dhabi. 253
How does Netflix know you are using a VPN?
How can I watch Netflix for free with VPN?
Do you really need a VPN for Firestick?


This blog post will tell you how to make fondant fish, and how to make a chocolate barrel or fence cake with Kit Kats.
I recently left my job to join another company and knew that I had to make a showstopper of a cake for my last day at work. I was known for making elaborate and imaginative cakes, and was asked to help run the charity bake sales, so when it got closer to my last day at the firm, several people were asking what kind of cake I would make! The most popular cake I had made before was this pigs in mud cake; I made it for a bake sale but by the time the cake trolley made it to the 6th floor there was none of this particular cake left, and several disappointed people who had heard from their friends on other floors that they must try it! So I have had a few requests to make it again, but didn't want to make exactly the same cake a second time. I started thinking about how I could decorate it as my leaving cake and thought of a famous line from the Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams- "So long and thanks for all the fish". I wanted to make a fence or barrel effect out of KitKats as before and thought that fish in a barrel would work (no suggestion of my job being particularly easy, if you also know that quotation!). I decided I could make white chocolate ganache instead of plain chocolate to go on top, and colour it blue to look like water.
To start with I made the fish a few days in advance. I'm going to show you how I made the fondant fish. To start with, I had a look through my box of food colours - this box came from Boots with some toiletries at Christmas but it's perfect for my bottles and tubes of food colouring!
To begin I decided to make a clown fish like the one in Finding Nemo. Here's what you need to do: coloured some white fondant with orange gel colour and make a ball. Roll it between your hands to elongate the shape so it is thicker at one end than the other, then pinch the end between your fingers to make a flat shape.
Press this into the end of the fish to give a fin effect.
Roll some thin sausage shapes from white fondant and stick around the fish to make stripes.
Make a short thick sausage shape and use your finger to squash at both ends to make a sort of bow shape, and stick this on top of the fish to make a fin. Make two thick semi circles and stick these on each side. I used the same modelling tool to make indentations.
's another tool which is perfect for making a smiley mouth!
Press into the fish's face to make a mouth, then roll two small balls of white fondant and two tiny balls of black fondant (you can also use piping icing or an edible ink pen) for the eyes.
I wanted to make a fish's tail so it would look like one was diving under the water. This is what you do: Colour some white fondant - in this case I went for a paler orange. Roll a thick ball and cut in half with a knife; this will be the end of the fish's body (left). Roll out a thick circle and use a heart-shaped cutter to cut a piece out then slice the bottom of the heart shape off with a knife. Stick this onto the body, using some edible glue if necessary.
To make the next fish, an angel fish, I added some Dr. Oetker gel colour to some white fondant. In the past I've been quite disappointed with supermarket food colouring and I never use liquid food colouring any more. Dr. Oetker has a range of gel colours that are not as strongly pigmented as the professional brands like Wilton or Sugarflair, but they are inexpensive and easily available in supermarkets. I decided to use the violet Dr. Oetker colour for this fish as I wanted a relatively pale lilac, but for a stronger, more vibrant colour I would always use Sugarflair.
To make this fish, roll a large ball and slightly pinch at one end. Make a short sausage and use your thumb to press into both ends to flatten them; then use the same tool as before to add the markings. Fix the tail onto the body, using edible glue if necessary.
Make a fin in the same way to go on top of the fish and flatten two small balls for the fins at the side. Use the same tool as before to make the mouth, and roll tiny balls of white and black fondant to make the eyes.
Finally I coloured a small piece of fondant with Wilton black gel colour and shaped it into a triangle to look like a shark's fin. And now your fish are ready to go on the cake!
For the cake I chose a recipe from the Good Housekeeping Baking Book for an Easter Chocolate Fudge Cake, though I didn't use the recipe given for the icing or decoration. I doubled the recipe but made the cake in two separate tins rather than slice a large cake through the middle.
and of course your fondant fish!
Preheat oven to 180C. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
Beat the butter and sugar together in a separate bowl.
Beat in the eggs, and then the flour and cocoa mixture. Then beat in the sour cream and vanilla.
Grease and line an 8 inch loose-bottomed cake tin; I sprayed mine with PME cake release.
Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for about 45 minutes. If you have two tins of the same size you can bake both cakes at once, but I did it separately.
Then turn onto a baking rack to cool.
I made a chocolate ganache by melting the chocolate and cream together; it doesn't take long to thicken and set.
I spread this between the two cakes and spread a little of the ganache on the top and around the sides too. I took the Kit Kats out of their packets and stuck them one by one around the side of the cake.
I decided to make some white chocolate ganache which I coloured aqua with food colouring, but the white chocolate just wouldn't set and my ganache was still very runny. I spooned it on top but a few minutes later it started to seep out between the Kit Kats - so I wouldn't recommend doing it this way!
Instead I decided to make some buttercream which I also coloured, though it looks quite pale in this photo as I was using the camera flash. Spooning the buttercream on in a fairly haphazard manner looked a lot like waves on the ocean.
Finally place your fish on top.
This was very popular with my work colleagues and I know they are all going to miss my baking!
I'm sharing this with Tea Time Treats, the blog challenge hosted by Karen at Lavender and Lovage and Janie of the Hedgecombers, as their theme this month is chocolate.
I am also sending this to Love Cake, hosted by Jibber Jabber, as the theme is "baking with passion". Everyone I worked with knows I have a passion for baking and this cake was a real labour of love as the fondant fish did take quite a long time!
so cute.. love the little Nemo!


FocusPoint is a jQuery plugin for 'responsive cropping'. Dynamically crop images to fill available space without cutting out the image's subject. Great for full-screen images.
Websites don't have a single layout any more. The space you have for an image may be portrait on a laptop, landscape on a tablet, and square on a mobile – particularly if you're using a full-screen image.
If you have to use the same image file in all these contexts, you might not be happy with the results you get when you 'fill' the allocated space with your image. Your subject might be clipped or completely missing, or just really awkward looking.
FocusPoint makes sure your image looks great in any container, by ensuring the 'spare' parts of your image (negative space) are cropped out before the important parts.
An image's focus point is made up of x (horizontal) and y (vertical) coordinates. The value of a coordinate can be a number with decimal points anywhere between -1 and +1, where 0 is the centre. X:-1 indicates the left edge of the image, x:1 the right edge. For the y axis, y:1 is the top edge and y:-1 is the bottom.


text:
Retired U professor renown in poetry, literature dies at age 89
Leonard Unger was one of a few people who developed an approach to looking at poetry called New Criticism.
by Derrick Biney
Leonard Unger, an English professor, internationally renowned scholar of British and American verse, literary critic and poet, died of an undisclosed illness Thursday at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis. He was 89.
Unger had a keen sense of humor and was a very witty person, said retired professor of language and literature Peter Reed.
Unger served as a mentor to Reed, who is 70, as well as some other professors in the English department, he said.
Professor of language and literature Peter Firchow said he was drawn to Unger by his enormous knowledge of poetry.
He said Unger brought a certain tradition – a way of reading poetry – with influences from the 17th century and all the way back to ancient Greek poetry.
Unger was one of a few people who followed and developed an approach to looking at poetry called New Criticism, which closely examines and analyzes poetry, Firchow said.
"If you take an English course today, you are likely to come across this approach," he said
Unger was one of the dominant intellectual forces in the department, Firchow said, and the best students tended to go to his classes.
"If you were a student into literature in the 1980s, (Unger) was a teacher you had to take," said Richard Cretan, a former student.
Unger was a brilliant and kind person, he said. Although Unger's reputation preceded him, he remained a "down-to-earth person," Cretan said.
Cretan said Unger had the ability to look through the charade of government and see deeply into society, academia and literature. This was part of his gift to students, he said.
Aside from his contributions to the literary world, Unger was a devoted family man and loving parent, Reed said.
Born in 1916 in New York City, Unger grew up primarily in Nashville, Tenn. He was a graduate of Vanderbilt University (Bachelor of Arts, 1937; Phi Beta Kappa); Louisiana State University (Master of Arts, 1938), and the University of Iowa (Ph.D., 1941).
Unger began his career at the University in 1947 and retired from the English department after more than 43 years in 1989.
When he joined the English department, it ranked in the top two in the country, with a faculty roster that included such notable figures as Joseph Warren Beach, Allan Tate, Saul Bellow and Robert Penn Warren, according to an obituary put together by Firchow, Allan Powers and the Unger family.
Leonard Unger is survived by his wife, Sherley Glasscock Unger; his son Thomas Unger and daughter-in-law Phyllis; his daughter Amy and grandson, Isaac Unger. His daughter Anne died in 1974.


The Taxonomic Research and Information Hub (TRIN) recently funded the collaborative development of web-based keys to all 640 Australian Insect families, found at the website What Bug Is That? http://anic.ento.csiro.au/insectfamilies/. Most of these keys are deployed as Lucid interactive keys using the server-side player application; a minority are HTML dichotomous keys and other formats. The Lucid server-side player allows the keys to be deployed effectively over the web and enables easy updating of content. Each family treatment includes a fact sheet, and wherever available, images. The site acts as a clearing-house for order and family-level keys, offering links to multiple web based resources in this domain. Many of the keys originated as publications in CD format, the TRIN collaborative model has allowed them to be accessed for free, and has been able to increase the scope of keys to the entire fauna. IdentifyLife (http://www.identifylife.org/) is a new project that has developed a collaborative web-based environment for building and maintaining identification keys and the descriptive data underpinning them. With funding from the Atlas of Living Australia and the Encyclopedia of Life, IdentifyLife seeks to:· bring together into one resource - Keys Central - a wide range of identification tools to help people throughout the world identify living organisms.· create a collaboration space - My IdentifyLife - where the world's community of experts and enthusiasts can collaboratively manage community-agreed character lists for groups of organisms, identification keys and descriptive information for all the world's organisms. · build an ambitious key - the Key to All Life – capable of handling identifications for all the world's living organisms.Existing systems for handling descriptive data, such as Lucid and DELTA, are mostly desktop software and have limited capability in a connected (web) world. IdentifyLife brings advantages in the collaborative management of data, the ability to share resources between projects, and the opportunity for creating super-projects by combining descriptive data from a variety of sources to address new questions and challenges.


The owner/builder of the the Vans RV-6A aircraft was conducting a flight from Townsville to Toowoomba. The aircraft departed Townsville at 0846 local time. The pilot subsequently contacted Oakey Approach at 1324, and the aircraft was identified on radar at 3500 feet. The pilot was instructed to maintain that altitude. When the aircraft was about 26 nautical miles from Toowoomba, the pilot transmitted a mayday distress message stating that the aircraft's engine had failed. A short time later he reported that a propeller blade had failed. No further transmissions were heard from the aircraft. About 30 minutes later, a searching helicopter located the wreckage in a flat clear area amongst hilly, tree covered terrain.
The area apparently chosen by the pilot for an emergency landing was about 300 m long and relatively flat. There were trees under the likely approach path of the aircraft and rising ground at the far end. The surrounding hills were above the level of the landing area.
Examination at the accident site revealed that the aircraft struck the ground while banked about 90 degrees left, and descending at an angle of about 34 degrees. A 200 mm section of one propeller blade tip had broken off and could not be located at the accident site. Witness marks indicated that the propeller was rotating under power when the blades contacted the ground. Aside from the broken tip, the propeller blades were in good condition. No other faults were found that might have prevented the aircraft from operating normally.
During the impact sequence, the section of the fuselage forward of the pilot's seat was deflected upward relative to the rear fuselage. The cockpit sides had buckled outwards. That resulted in the pilot striking the instrument panel, even though his shoulder harness remained fastened.
The pilot purchased the aircraft in 1996 and he first flew it in 1998. At the time of the accident, the aircraft had accumulated 383 hours time in service.
The pilot fitted a new engine and propeller to the aircraft during construction. The engine was modified to improve and balance the airflow through the valves of each cylinder to enhance engine performance. In an apparent further attempt to improve engine performance, the pilot replaced one magneto with an electronic ignition system that was capable of varying the ignition timing in response to changes in engine RPM and manifold pressure. That variation contrasted with the fixed timing ignition provided by the other "standard" magneto fitted to the engine.
The aircraft's wing was a constant chord, low aspect ratio wing. A characteristic of low aspect ratio wings is high induced drag at low speed. Unless the pilot controls the speed carefully, the effect on aircraft performance can be a rapid speed loss and a high rate of descent. If such a situation arose during an approach to land, the only means of regaining speed and arresting the rate of descent would be to increase engine power. If little or no engine power was available, the outcome could range from a heavy landing to a loss of control of the aircraft.
A fatigue crack had initiated near the leading edge of the blade 216 mm from the blade tip. Crack growth had occurred as a result of alternating thrust loads, and had propagated along the thrust face (rear surface) of the blade. The characteristics of the crack indicated that it had grown under constant amplitude loading. There was no evidence of flight by flight striations. The propeller material was of the correct type and no damage or other reason for the crack to initiate was found.
All propellers are subject to alternating thrust loads during normal operation. Propellers are designed so that those loads will not exceed the design value, thus preventing the development of fatigue cracks during operation. The firing of each cylinder in a reciprocating engine produces torsional vibrations. That means that the crankshaft momentarily speeds up at each firing stroke, and then slows down again prior to the next firing stroke. The vibration leads to alternating thrust loads in the propeller.
Examination of the engine connecting rod big-end bearings revealed distress on the bearing surfaces. That distress was indicative of firing loads exceeding the designed capacity of the bearing lubrication. For optimum operation of spark ignition engines, the peak pressure developed by the combustion of the fuel air mixture should occur approximately 15 degrees after the crank has located past top centre.
Ignition timing was a critical factor, influencing engine power, fuel economy, and the operating condition of the engine. Timing depended on the rate of propagation of the flame front through the fuel-air mixture. Increased or advanced ignition timing resulted in increased combustion chamber pressures. Magneto timing was fixed and was optimised for the operating range of the engine. If the response of the electronic ignition system to reductions in manifold pressure created by part throttle opening was to advance the timing of ignition, that could increase cylinder head pressures and increase the magnitude of torsional vibration.
The pilot, aged 64, held a New Zealand Private Pilot Licence and a current Class 2 Medical Certificate. The medical certificate was subject to three restrictions; the pilot was required to wear spectacles, he was granted an exemption regarding his hearing standard, and he was subject to a restriction regarding a drug he was taking for tinnitus (a ringing or similar sensation in the ears, due to disease of the auditory nerve).
The post-mortem examination of the pilot revealed that he had previously suffered at least one myocardial infarction and had coronary artery disease. Specialist examination of the pilot's electrocardiogram traces over a number of years did not reveal any pre-existing signs of a heart problem. Specialist medical opinion was that the possibility of the pilot suffering a heart attack induced by high stress levels after the propeller failed could not be excluded.
According to the pilot's logbook, he had a total flying experience of 1,179.6 hours at the time of the accident, of which 1,109.9 hours were in command. He had 383.2 hours on the accident aircraft, all of which were in command. On the day before the accident, the pilot had flown the aircraft from Auckland, New Zealand to Townsville, Queensland. That flight took 13 hours.
The evidence indicated that the flight proceeded normally until the propeller failed. The pilot correctly diagnosed the nature of the problem and appeared to have been attempting an emergency landing when the accident occurred. It is possible that, with little effective power being available from the engine, the aircraft entered a low speed/high rate of descent situation during the final landing approach. Any yaw existing at the time could have been sufficient to cause the aircraft to roll left or right. The impact dynamics were consistent with such a sequence.
It is possible that vibration caused by the out-of-balance propeller limited the pilot's ability to accurately interpret the aircraft instruments, including the airspeed indicator. Such a situation might have affected his control of the airspeed during the final approach to the landing area and may have contributed to the loss of control.
The distortion to the cockpit sides was very similar to the damage sustained in a fatal accident involving an RV-3 aircraft on 12 March 2000 (ATSB Occurrence Brief 200000885). Both aircraft were originally designed under US Federal Aviation Regulation Part 121-191 (experimental - amateur). As such, they were not required to meet any design standard.
The degree to which the pilot's medical conditions may have affected the final outcome could not be established.
The investigation was unable to determine the factors leading to the accident, other than the failure of the propeller blade.
Independent of the ATSB investigation, an assessment of both accidents was undertaken (B A Llewellyn, November 2001). That report suggested, among other things, that the fuselage upper longeron in the area of the cockpits of RV-3 and RV-6 aircraft be strengthened. The writer of the independent report sent copies to the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority, as the airworthiness certification authority for Australia and to the aircraft designer.
Location (show map): 53 km NE Oakey, Aero.


text:
Polygamists Hope Americans Will Forget Their History
Brenda Walker
Over in the backwaters of the court system, a family of Mormon polygamists is working to overturn the laws against the practice of multi-wifing. Because the miscreants are also the stars of the reality TV show Sister Wives, much of the reporting has been in the entertainment press, e.g. HollywoodLife.com's 'Sister Wives' At War: Brown Family Allowed To Fight Anti-Polygamy Laws.
Reality star Mormon husband Kody Brown has four wives and 17 children. Unsurprisingly, the uber-family has availed themselves of the taxpayer-funded welfare system, specifically food stamps at the least.
Recent news of the case going forward was reported by the mainstream press:
Judge won't toss "Sister Wives" lawsuit, Fox News, Feb 3, 2012
SALT LAKE CITY— A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a reality TV show polygamist and his wives, challenging Utah's ban on polygamy.
In a ruling released late Friday afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups ruled that Kody Brown's lawsuit against the state can proceed. However, he did dismiss Governor Gary Herbert and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff as defendants. Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman remains a defendant.
The Browns' appearance on the TV show "Sister Wives" put them under investigation by Lehi police. Last year, the Browns turned around and sued the state of Utah, challenging the ban on polygamy. The Browns' lawsuit has the potential to decriminalize polygamy in Utah. [. . .]
These days, with the growing anything-goes attitude exemplified by the recent California ruling favoring gay marriage, it's useful to remember how the American prohibition of polygamy came to Utah, the historic home of the misogynous practice in this country.
The upshot is that the federal government refused to accept Utah as a state until it outlawed polygamy. The territory first applied for statehood in 1849 with no success because of its acceptance of multiple wives, something deeply objectionable to Americans of that time.
The 1856 Republican platform connected slavery and polygamy, calling them the "twin relics of barbarism" . . .
Resolved: That the Constitution confers upon Congress sovereign powers over the Territories of the United States for their government; and that in the exercise of this power, it is both the right and the imperative duty of Congress to prohibit in the Territories those twin relics of barbarism — Polygamy, and Slavery.
Only when the territory agreed to end polygamy by voting the prohibition into the Utah constitution was it accepted as a state — in 1896.
So Americans of a century ago understood the inequality of allowing men to have multiple wives, but not the other way around — decades before women got the right to vote.
For a view on how polygamy might expand if permitted to do so, consider the state of civil society in Britain. Bowing to the Islamic immigrant influx, the government now provides welfare for Muslims' extra wives and their kiddies. The traditional British taxpayer gets no such benefit. (See Polygamy Diversity to Be Rewarded.)
Polygamy in Muslim societies often goes hand in hand with abusive child marriage, as illustrated by the Afghan couple pictured here.
Even ultra-liberal NPR has reported that 100,000 Muslims residing in America are estimated to live in polygamous marriages: Some Muslims in U.S. Quietly Engage in Polygamy. They are largely immigrants, but some US converts think that it's cool to follow Mohammed's example and violate American law.
We can be sure that multi-wifing Muslims in the US will be piping up for their sharia-based lifestyle choice more openly when gay marriage becomes increasingly accepted.
One such:
As Legal Marriage Is Redefined, Some Muslim Call for Decriminalizing Polygamy, October 27 2011, MuslimLinkPaper.com
The legalization of gay marriage in six states and the continued efforts toward legalizing it in the rest of the country has opened the flood gates that have, for hundreds of years defined legal marriage in the United States as the union between one man and one woman.
As more proponents of gay marriage push bills through Congress and rally votes that support marriage as a constitutional right for all citizens regardless of sexual orientation another group that remains decidedly outside the legal confines of marriage is slowly entering the limelight.
Over 130 years ago a decision was made that criminalized the practice of polygamy in the United States.
Despite the redefinition of legal marriage to include homosexual couples, the country still grapples at the idea of polygamy, a commonly misunderstood primarily religiously based practice. [. . .]
Right. A "commonly misunderstood primarily religiously based practice"!


text:
Q: Laravel+Angular Project's Auth and CSRF token not working in Production csrf_token and X-XSRF-TOKEN have been added via Angular
$http.defaults.headers.common['csrf_token'] = CSRF_TOKEN;
$http.defaults.headers.common['X-XSRF-TOKEN'] = X_XSRF_TOKEN;

The project is working fine on local server but not in production. I see TokenMismatchException after submitting a form and Auth::attempt() works fine during login. But after login when I access user's id by Auth::user()->id for other route then I see no login user.
I also checked my cookies in local server. I can see XSRF-TOKEN and laravel-session there but in production my cookie list is empty.
Update: Found out that session is not working in my project on server.

A: Solution
The problem why the Session was not working is that a blank line was present before PHP opening tag(<?php)  in a Config file(in my case /config/google-geocoder.php) of my project. That's why Laravel was unable to create any sessions(with laravel's default XSRF-token and laravel-session also) in the cookie list. See @codesidekick's answer from the link which helped me a lot to fix this issue. CSRF - Form Token Doesn't Match Session Token
Why localhost not facing this issue?
I can't tell exactly why but my Local Server has PHP version 5.5.9-1ubuntu4.19 and Production Server has 5.5.30. I think due to some difference in configuration, I faced the problem in production.
List of issues that can generate this problem
During my investigation I found out that there are several issues that may generate this problem. I have also included my one in the list below.

*

*If you see any blank line before <!DOCTYPE html> of your source code from browser then the related files of your page has blank line before opening PHP tag. In this case check for realted PHP files created by you for the page and if there is none then look into default loaded files (index.php, routes.php, config files etc) of Laravel and make sure there is no blank space before PHP opening tag you added mistakenly.

*If there is any echo right after data store in session.

*If you have any whitespace after your closing tags. See here

*If you are only having token mismatch then add token globally <meta name="_token" content="{!! csrf_token() !!}"/> into your header or locally in your form <input type="hidden" name="_token" value="{ csrf_token() }">. For ajax call
 $.ajaxSetup(
{
    headers:
    {
        'X-CSRF-Token': $('input[name="_token"]').val()
    }
});

*Check whether /store/framework/Session has permission to store session because by default Laravel has File typed session. You may try Database session and I saw for some people it worked. You may try also to delete file cache from storage/framework/sessions and storage/framework/viewsSee @gbrock's answer

*Some people said to clear cache and restart the server.


text:
Appendix: Module Utilities
``````````````````````````

Ansible provides a number of module utilities that provide helper functions that you can use when developing your own modules. The `basic.py` module utility provides the main entry point for accessing the Ansible library, and all Ansible modules must, at minimum, import from basic.py::

  from ansible.module_utils.basic import *

The following is a list of module_utils files and a general description. The module utility source code lives in the `./lib/module_utils` directory under your main Ansible path - for more details on any specific module utility, please see the source code.

- a10.py - Utilities used by the a10_server module to manage A10 Networks devices.
- api.py - Adds shared support for generic API modules.
- asa.py - Module support utilities for managing Cisco ASA network devices.
- azure_rm_common.py - Definitions and utilities for Microsoft Azure Resource Manager template deployments.
- basic.py - General definitions and helper utilites for Ansible modules.
- cloudstack.py  - Utilities for CloudStack modules.
- database.py - Miscellaneous helper functions for PostGRES and MySQL
- docker_common.py - Definitions and helper utilites for modules working with Docker.
- ec2.py - Definitions and utilites for modules working with Amazon EC2
- eos.py - Helper functions for modules working with EOS networking devices.
- f5.py - Helper functions for modules working with F5 networking devices.
- facts.py - Helper functions for modules that return facts.
- gce.py - Definitions and helper functions for modules that work with Google Compute Engine resources.
- ios.py - Definitions and helper functions for modules that manage Cisco IOS networking devices
- iosxr.py - Definitions and helper functions for modules that manage Cisco IOS-XR networking devices
- ismount.py - Contains single helper function that fixes os.path.ismount
- junos.py -  Definitions and helper functions for modules that manage Junos networking devices
- known_hosts.py - Utilites for working with known_hosts file
- mysql.py - Allows modules to connect to a MySQL instance
- netcfg.py - Configuration utility functions for use by networking modules
- netcmd.py - Defines commands and comparison operators for use in networking modules
- network.py - Functions for running commands on networking devices
- nxos.py - Contains definitions and helper functions specific to Cisco NXOS networking devices
- openstack.py - Utilities for modules that work with Openstack instances.
- openswitch.py - Definitions and helper functions for modules that manage OpenSwitch devices
- powershell.ps1 - Utilities for working with Microsoft Windows clients
- pycompat24.py - Exception workaround for python 2.4
- rax.py -  Definitions and helper functions for modules that work with Rackspace resources.
- redhat.py - Functions for modules that manage Red Hat Network registration and subscriptions
- service.py - Contains utilities to enable modules to work with Linux services (placeholder, not in use).
- shell.py - Functions to allow modules to create shells and work with shell commands
- six.py - Module utils for working with the Six python 2 and 3 compatibility library
- splitter.py - String splitting and manipulation utilites for working with Jinja2 templates
- urls.py - Utilities for working with http and https requests
- vca.py - Contains utilities for modules that work with VMware vCloud Air
- vmware.py - Contains utilities for modules that work with VMware vSphere VMs
- vyos.py - Definitions and functions for working with VyOS networking

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: My linked list in ruby is giving me the desired output and does not throw any error My linked list is failing the given test and it's not throwing any errors.
The question:
Create your own LinkedList  class for storing integers which should include two methods:
add(number) - Add a new Node to the end of the list with a value of a number. Nothing needs to be returned.
get(index) - Return the value of the Node at position index in the List.
Example
This is an example of a test case:
list = LinkedList.new
list.add(3)
list.add(5)
puts list.get(1)
  #=> 5

The 2 add operations create the list: [3, 5].
The get operation, gets the number located at position 1.
My solution:
class Node
  attr_accessor :value, :next_node
  def initialize(value, next_node = nil)
    @value = value
    @next_node = next_node
  end
end

class LinkedList
  #setup head and tail
  def initialize
    @head = nil
    @tail = nil
  end

  def add(number)
    this_node = Node.new(number)
    if @head.nil?
      @head = this_node
    else
      current = @head
      until current.next_node.nil?
        current = current.next_node
      end
      current.next_node = this_node
    end
  end

  def get(index)
    current = @head
    index.times do
      current = current.next_node
    end
    return current
  end
end

Test here:
list = LinkedList.new
list.add(3)
list.add(5)
puts list.get(1)
  #=> 5

When I run my solution in ripple.it, it fails all the test.
And when I run it on code editor with puts, I get:
#<Node:0x000055cb85579238>

And with p, I get:
#<Node:0x0000557a796dfcd8 @value=3, @next_node=#<Node:0x0000557a796dfbe8 @value=5, @next_node=nil>>

I need clarification as I'm still very new to data structures and algorithms.

A: You have just one error in your code. The line return current in get should be:
current.value

current is an instance of Node. current.value is the value of the instance variable @value for that instance.
return is not needed when it is the last calculation performed by the method.
You don't use the instance variable @tail. It is not used because yours is a singly-linked list, as opposed to a doubly-linked list. You therefore can remove it.


text:
Opinion: Godus: The Promises of a Fallen God Game Creator
It's clear that Peter Molyneux and 22Cans issued a series of false promises when launching Godus' crowdfunding campaign. All in addition to treating Bryan Henderson, the winner of the Curiosity cube, badly. Does all this impact the public's faith in crowdfunding?
Steven Wong
Yesterday, Eurogamer published an excellent article about Scot Bryan Henderson, winner of Peter Molyneux's Curiosity cube. On May 26, 2013, Henderson tapped on the Curiosity cube and was treated to a video where Molyneux promised him a prize that would be "life-changing." That's a very audacious statement to make, and it was met with no small share of skepticism from those who have heard him make grand statements before. However, the promise of not only being an in-game presence as a digital God of Gods in the crowdfunded game Godus, but also receiving a share of the game's revenue during the time he holds the title, seemed like it might live up to the statement.
Although it's tremendously disappointing, it's not altogether surprising that Molyneux and the development studio 22Cans have yet to make good on that and other promises. Ever since the development of Fable, and perhaps some time before that, Molyneux established quite a reputation for over-promising and under-delivering--although not delivering anything at all is a new one. Part of it may be a genuine sense of enthusiasm, where he wants to include every feature and share the development process with the world. That is, until cold reality hits and cuts have to be made. Another possible reason is that he enjoys making grand statements to get fans excited about his games, whether he can really deliver on what he promises or not. Perhaps it's a combination of those things and more.
Whatever the case, history speaks for itself. Despite a dedicated fanbase and the release of Black & White 2, the Movies, and Fable: The Lost Chapters, Lionhead Studios had trouble keeping itself financially afloat, and the company was acquired by Microsoft in April, 2006. Before then, the company had a rumored sense of over-ambition, which often led to last minute redesigns and delays. Whether or not those rumors are founded in fact, and how much so, are irrelevant. What does matter is that games developed by Lionhead Studios, including Fable, Black & White 2, and The Movies often fell short of expectations and, in some cases, had some serious gameplay flaws.
So, it shouldn't be too surprising to learn that by March 2014--over a year after reaching its Kickstarter goal and a six months after the game was put on Steam Early Access--development of Godus was hitting some road bumps. Then earlier this week, it was revealed that the game was seeing more serious problems. Specifically, it was proving very difficult to balance between the features that were promised in the Kickstarter campaign and what was actually possible, given the studio's limited resources. Nothing new there. What is shocking, however, is the strange sense of priorities (or lack thereof) shown in Tuesday's Godus Community Update video, where Molyneux admits that more attention should have been paid to development of the PC game instead of pushing out the mobile game first.
What's astounding isn't that 22Cans chose to pursue the lucrative mobile market, which has been bringing in a decent revenue stream. It's that the company seemed to completely forget what the Kickstarter and Early Access funds were meant for. Now with a reduced team, thanks to a large portion of developers tasked to work on a different project called The Trial, completion of Godus for PC seems ever more distant. Godus is having problems with promised features like multiplayer and a persistent worldhub. 22Cans only recently started work on basic game concepts like combat and story. Backers are justifiably angry, and many are demanding a refund. Whether or not Godus will ever be finished remains to be seen, and moving forward, it will be difficult to overlook the stain that's on 22Cans' reputation.
At the same time, this is the unstable nature of crowdfunding. The Kickstarter description for Godus practically oozes with big promises that probably won't be realized.
From the Kickstarter page:
"GODUS blends the power, growth and scope of Populous with the detailed construction and multiplayer excitement of Dungeon Keeper and the intuitive interface and technical innovation of Black & White. The original Populous hailed from the 8-bit era but GODUS will use the most modern technology the world has to offer."
Reading the game description is like seeing a wishlist for Molyneux's Magnum Opus. The culmination of over 22 years of history, brought to you by the god game's originator. It's foolish to believe in it, but the prototype video does such a fine job of awakening memories of Populous that it's hard to not want to believe in it. It's easy to overlook the past, hope that the developers learned from past mistakes, and deliver on promises made by a notorious over-promiser. Then reality hits, and you realize that all a Kickstarter really amounts to is the sale of an idea... something that's completly insubstantial. You back the idea in hopes that it will become a reality, but there are no guarantees.
In the case of Godus, Molyneux puts some of the blame on his inexperience with crowdfunding and the "winner take all" nature of Kickstarter, where if you're even a penny short, you don't get any of the money. With just a few days left to the campaign and £100,000 to go, you might start promising anything. And it looks like he did.
But Molyneux is far from the first person to over-promise or hit a roadblock when reality intrudes on a vision. He just happens to be the most prominent personality, and given his years of game development experience, the one with the least acceptable excuses. However, the problem isn't so much that Molyneux over-promised as usual, it's that the money backers provided didn't fund the described project. When you put something up for funding, the basic understanding the money pledged by backers should go towards that project. Instead, the project was put to the side along with its promises, which is why backers are rightfully enraged.
Bryan Henderson, the not-so-winner of Curiosity, may actually be the most fortunate person to come out of this whole mess. Yes, he was promised a prize that may never come, and he was treated badly by 22Cans, but at least he didn't pay any money into those promises. And at least he can see some small satisfaction in becoming a god-like character in the game Not a Hero.
The larger issue at stake is whether or not this jeopardizes other crowdfunded projects, which depend so much on a trusting relationship between the developer and backers. If we can't trust a legendary game designer, who can we trust? I'm guessing there will probably be some fallout, but it probably won't be long lasting.
Crowdfunding, by nature, involves an amount of risk. Backers put their money into a virtual hat, and in return, they get backer rewards and the hope that the project will someday see completion. But once that trust is broken, it can be near impossible to fix. Although 22Cans (and likely anything Peter Molyneux is associated with) probably won't be able to get another project crowdfunded, that doesn't necessarily mean that other companies won't. For every Godus, there are also numerous success stories, where the developers did the right thing, went through hardships, and stretched limited resources as far as they could go to finish their projects.
There's also the matter of buying into the dream. After all, despite being a longtime game development veteran, Molyneux is well-known for being an over-promiser. The majority of fans likely knew this, even as they backed Godus. Sometimes the ambition of a game that embodies all the best aspects of Populous, Dungeon Keeper, and Black & White is just too good to pass up. Fans want to see their favorite games come back in a big way, even if it requires some suspension of belief, and the risk of deep disappointment. Plus, more often than not, the money does go toward development of the described project.
So, let Godus stand as an example of how not handle crowdfunding. Let's hope, beyond reason, that 22Cans will be able to rescue the game and its reputation from this disaster and that Bryan Henderson will someday see his long delayed prize. In the meantime, we can add Godus to the long list of recent debacles, disasters, and disappointments in recent gaming that span well beyond crowdfunded and independently developed games.
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Steven Wong posted a new article, Opinion: Godus: The Promises of a Fallen God Game Creator
my wife loved this game up until they patched it and it corrupted the game data and she lost months of time
vertdang
Being a Molyneaux game, I held off.
I wanted to see what exactly would come of it. I'm glad I did. Overpromising and underdelivery is his style.
I'm sure the game will get released, but I doubt it'll be feature complete
Dessicator82
Great article. Makes me glad I never played it.
daggot
Crowdfunding, by nature, involves an amount of risk. Backers put their money into a virtual hat, and in return, they get backer rewards and the hope that the project will someday see completion.
This is where I am with Underworld Ascendant. Except I'm too skeptical that the end result will be what the promise is. I would assume with enough time and getting burned, the public may be able to better sniff out a bad bet. At the least we're becoming more jaded.
rtricoche
Peter may have very well fucked it up for other developers that take these matters ULTRA serious.
Whether its risky or not is bullshit.
If that's the case then Id like to make up some shit, make it look great on Kickstarter and ask for money.
Then once its gets funded ill just say, "you know what, I got caught up in the moment and I over promised. Sorry. Nothing else I can do about it. You'll forgive me right?"
There are small devs and independent devs that put their heart, mind and soul into their projects and not only games. ALL kinds of projects. When you get scumbags like Peter putting their filthy hands into something good. Its taints it for everyone.
The days of giving this guy a pass are over as far as I am concerned.
Hes just a natural born fuck up.


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David Brent: Life on the Road (Review)
DIRECTOR: Ricky Gervais
CAST: Ricky Gervais, Doc Brown, Andy Burrows, Tom Basden, Rebecca Gethings, Nina Sosanya, Tom Bennett, Andrew Brooke, Steve Clarke, Michael Carke, Stuart Wilkinson
RUNNING TIME: 96 mins
CERTIFICATE: 15
BASICALLY…: Former office manager David Brent (Gervais) attempts to kick-start a career as a musician, touring with his band Foregone Conclusion to gig after gig…
NOW FOR THE REVIEW…
Filling what has now become the annual "Try To Replicate The Success Of The Inbetweeners Movie" slot of the summer, is a feature film starring everyone's favourite boss from hell, David Brent.
Much like in the fictional universe he lives in, Ricky Gervais' breakout character hasn't been up to much since The Office ended in 2003. He's been in a few Comic Relief sketches, a few YouTube videos on Gervais' channel, and has even had a couple of brief cameos in the American version of the sitcom, but mostly he's been at the back of Gervais' head whilst he's been busy offending half of Hollywood during his Golden Globe hosting stints. Once again, however, David Brent is back in the spotlight, and he couldn't be happier – while everyone else is struggling what way to best cope with him, and we don't just mean the other characters.
Your enjoyment of David Brent: Life on the Road, wherein Gervais as Brent heads off on a small tour with his band Foregone Conclusion (because of course that's what David Brent's band is called) and aspiring rapper Dom Johnson (Doc Brown), will depend on whether or not you can tolerate the character for more than a half-hour sitcom episode. Like with last year's Minions, you'll be in heaven if you can, and in hell if you can't. We can say that we sympathise with both sides; on the one hand, he can be extremely irritating to be around, as is how the character was always written to be, but on the other he is such a pathetic specimen of a human male that you can't help but feel just a little bit sorry for him, especially when he's actively trying to pursue something he never should.
Brent in this movie is now a sales rep for a cleaning company, a far cry from his previous general manager role at paper company Wernham Hogg, and it seems that the only thing keeping him afloat other than his desires to make it big as a musician, is his unbelievably awkward sense of humour, something that ironically always prevents him from achieving anything in life. None of his other band mates can tolerate him, hardly anyone at the company has any real respect for him, and even in his private life he's a lonely and desperate man clinging onto the increasingly unlikely possibility that there's someone out there who genuinely likes him. When you really think about it, that's a seriously worrying existence, and we even get to see Brent having a session with a therapist after we learn that he has indeed been battling depression. Knowing that you live in a world where nobody outside of your own ego can stand you would drive anyone to the edge of insanity, and in this case he shows it by embarking on a small tour that doesn't even go outside the Slough and Reading border, and digging into his pension funds to pay for hotels, playing space, and a giant tour bus he's not even invited onto. You might occasionally laugh at how awkward some of his interactions and attempts at humour are, but mostly there will be a dark and even disturbing feeling that you're watching someone's mental breakdown as he goes from gig to gig looking more and more like a prat.
If you do find Brent and Gervais' dry sense of humour to be one of the greatest things to happen in the history of British comedy, chances are you'll come out feeling somewhat satisfied, even though it probably isn't Brent's finest hour overall. It can definitely raise a few laughs here and there, mainly from his sheer awkwardness and failure to succeed, but you'll surprisingly feel far more uncomfortable watching this person undertake such a desperate exercise in egotism with the vain hopes of getting people to actually like him. That's a task made far more difficult since he's a character who you either can't stand or can't get enough of, something that even his band mates make obvious more than once (in one attempt to connect with them, Brent is goaded into buying everyone's drinks, and they rarely even acknowledge him in return). Some fans may probably even notice a few of the jokes to be near word-for-word recitals of previous ones from The Office, like a mini-tirade on making fun of disabled people that also appears in one of the earlier episodes of the first series.
All in all, much like Brent himself, his film is wildly all over the place, and your enjoyment will entirely depend on your tolerance for awkward and cringing humour.
SO, TO SUM UP…
David Brent: Life on the Road gets a few good laughs just based on the main character's sheer awkwardness, but overall you may end up feeling uncomfortable by its depressing and unnerving undertones.
By Jack Martin|August 20th, 2016|Film Reviews|0 Comments
THE TURNING (15)
THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD (PG)
THE GRUDGE (15)
Bad Boys For Life (Review)
Waves (Review)
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Female lawyers over 30 earning 25% less than the men
New research shows that while young female lawyers typically earn more than their male contempories, the trend is reversed in the space of a few years. Could the legal industry do more to support and promote female talent?
Lottie O'Conor
Tue 18 Mar 2014 03.05 EDT First published on Tue 18 Mar 2014 03.05 EDT
Greater flexibilty and a better work/life balance were priorities for many of the lawyers surveyed. Photograph: Blend Images / Alamy/Alamy
Research released this week by global law firm Eversheds shows a fairly dispiriting career trajectory for female lawyers hoping to rise up the ranks. While young female lawyers (the under 25s) earn a reported 30% more than their male contemporaries, once they cross over the mid-twenties mark, the trend is reversed. The over 25s earned 11% less than their male colleagues, while by mid 30s the shortfall increased to 25%.
The research went on to ask questions about long-term career plans, revealing that only 57% of women aspire to become partner, while just 34% plan to spend the rest of their career in a law firm.
The stats raise some big questions about why the legal profession is still failing to support and retain talented women. Looking more closely at the numbers and speaking to a number of female lawyers in their late 20s and early 30s, it seems the issue is a complex one. The industry's lack of flexibility when it comes to childcare is certainly a big part of the problem, but there also seems to be a more fundamental lack of balance that needs to be addressed.
All of the lawyers I spoke to cited their unrealistic and unmaintainable working hours as the main barrier to a future in the industry. Many are considering moving to in-house roles when they reach a certain level of seniority, as this can offer a better work/life balance with shorter hours and often better pay. This is backed up by the research, which reports that 96% of female respondents said achieving a work/life balance is of prime importance for their career satisfaction.
"Being partner in a law firm just means you lose your life outside of work completely" said one. "Everyone knows that you have to put in the crazy hours as a trainee, but everyone I know feels like they've done their time and they want to be rewarded for their hard work".
The economic downturn also seems to have affected more than wages and job security. The lack of interest in partnership roles seems to have a lot to do with the amount of time it now takes to reach the top and the impact this has on planning a family.
"Pre-credit crunch, it seemed to be just about possible to aspire to partnership. It seemed that if you kept your head down and focussed it was achievable in seven to ten years. This still just about gave you time to have kids in your mid 30s," said one lawyer I spoke to. "Post-credit crunch, I watched colleagues who were in line for partnership being told it was going to take rather longer and suddenly it looked like a choice between aiming for partnership or a family."
The feedback from those who have tried to balance work and family life was equally damning.
"My personal experience is that while most firms might publicly seem to support the idea of being able to work flexibly post-children, the reality is that no-one I know has been able to actually negotiate any sort of flexible working arrangement, so either has gone back full time, or given up law altogether," explained one ex-lawyer who left the profession after having children.
The survey also showed that it isn't just female lawyers who are disenchanted with the profession. Greater opportunities for flexible working were desired by all survey respondents with 26% of men rating them as crucial for their future careers. This echoes a general desire among Generation Y graduates for a more progressive way of working.
For this younger generation, many of whom see the idea of "a job for life" as outdated, the prospect of endless long hours and zero flexibility has little appeal. Many are initially attracted to the academic training and financial rewards of a law job, but a number of them say they never planned to stick with it in the long term. "I have a ten year plan" one young lawyer told me. "I'm going to get on the property ladder and then get out."
Considering the time and money that many law firms invest in the training and progression of their graduates, a mass exodus of promising young lawyers a few years down the line is a worrying prospect. It seems that the legal world, like many other corporate institutions, may need to take a hard look at working practices and incentives if it wants to retain its top talent for the long haul.
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