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El concepto de Lebenswelt [ˈleːbm̩sˌv̥ɛltʰ] traducido como mundo de la vida fue creado por Edmund Husserl como parte de su fenomenología, y se refiere a todos los actos culturales, sociales e individuales que nuestra "vida" no puede sobrepasar. Jürgen Habermas empleó este concepto en su teoría crítica en contrapunto al concepto de sistema social.

Introducción
La teoría de Jürgen Habermas realiza un análisis en profundidad de la "acción comunicativa" y su fundamento racional, así como de la capacidad comunicativa del lenguaje. Habermas emplea varios conceptos extraídos de la fenomenología de Husserl, entre ellos el que nos ocupa: Lebenswelt (mundo de la vida, en español).

El problema de Habermas es que su explicación de algunos conceptos, como el de mundo de la vida, por sus referencias y citas a otros autores, puede presentar cierta complejidad para un lector sin conocimientos profundos en la fenomenología o en la filosofía de la conciencia (Husserl, Heidegger,...)

Por lo tanto, intentamos llevar a cabo una explicación del concepto de Lebenswelt siguiendo la explicación gráfica que el propio Habermas expuso en su libro Teoría de la acción comunicativa II. Crítica de la razón funcionalista, y basándonos en ejemplos cotidianos. Por eso buscamos varias interpretaciones del concepto de Lebenswelt, sobre todo de su creador, Husserl, para poder tener otras referencias añadidas a lo que Habermas expresó.

Creemos necesario, para un mejor entendimiento del concepto de Lebenswelt, exponer rápidamente la teoría de Habermas desde el concepto de acción comunicativa hasta los problemas que encuentra en la articulación de Lebenswelt como sistema (colonización del mundo de la vida).

Acción comunicativa, entendimiento y acuerdo
La acción comunicativa es un concepto clave para Habermas, pues le permite rellenar huecos y salvar algunos obstáculos de su teoría crítica.

La acción comunicativa le permite sustituir el trabajo y la alienación, típicas del pensamiento marxista, por la tensión entre Lebenswelt y sistema. Para Habermas, la acción comunicativa es toda acción social que está orientada al entendimiento. Si la acción no es social y está orientada al éxito, tenemos una acción instrumental. En el planteamiento de Habermas no pueden darse acciones no sociales dirigidas hacia el entendimiento, lo que pone de manifiesto la importancia que da el autor a la idea de Durkheim de la conciencia colectiva. Por otra parte, las acciones sociales que están orientadas al éxito son denominadas acciones estratégicas.

La acción comunicativa actúa sobre todas las funciones del lenguaje, su objetivo es el entendimiento e influye sobre los tres mundos (físico, intersubjetivo y objetivo-colectivo), que más adelante trataremos más a fondo. El término "entendimiento" (Verständigung) se debe interpretar en el sentido de haber comprendido lo dicho, no tanto como en el de estar de acuerdo con lo dicho.

El acuerdo (Einverständnis) entre los participantes es más bien conducido por el proceso comunicativo una vez se ha producido el entendimiento.
Habermas afirma que ese entendimiento viene dado por la racionalidad inmanente al lenguaje y aplica la teoría de los actos de habla para seguir edificando su concepto de acción comunicativa.

Articulación del lenguaje como instrumento necesario de la acción
Para Habermas, el empleo del lenguaje tiene por función no describir los estados de las cosas, sino cumplir una acción. De cada acto comunicativo observamos tres tipos de actos (locucionarios o proposicionales, ilocucionarios y perlocucionarios)

En analogía con la distinción entre actos proposicionales (normativos) y los ilocucionarios (efectos añadidos por el contexto y la situación comunicativa), expone su división del núcleo de la teoría de la Sociedad entre el mundo de la vida (Lebenswelt, lifeworld) y el sistema.

Lebenswelt sería, pues, el trasfondo de experiencias y vivencias "prerreflexivas" a partir del cual se dota de sentido a todo cuanto se dice. El denominado "Entorno inmediato del agente individual" de Husserl, la capa profunda de certezas, realidades y evidencias que no son puestas en cuestión. Es una base cognitiva sólida sobre la cual puede establecerse la comunicación.
Desde el punto de vista pragmático, Lebenswelt son los presupuestos que conforman el ámbito de la comunicación, principalmente las propias reglas de los juegos del lenguaje y determinados enunciados con los que "todo el mundo" está de acuerdo (y que valen, en consecuencia, también como reglas).

Por otra parte tenemos el sistema, opuesto al "mundo de la vida". Es el conjunto del entramado social, que tiende al equilibrio autorregulativo por medio de la especificación funcional de los diferentes subsistemas. La acción de cada individuo es determinada mediante cálculos interesados, maximizadores de la utilidad.
El sistema es un ámbito social constituido por una serie de mecanismos anónimos dotados de una lógica propia que, en las sociedades avanzadas, han cristalizado en dos subsistemas sociales diferenciados regidos por reglas estratégicas y medios materiales o técnicos: el subsistema político-administrativo y el subsistema económico.

Explicación de Lebenswelt a partir del gráfico de Habermas
Habermas plantea una representación gráfica que él mismo apunta como "especialmente insuficiente". Vamos a intentar explicar el concepto de Lebenswelt, en términos de la teoría de la comunicación, articulando el gráfico descrito por Habermas en relación con la Doctrina de los tres mundos de Karl Popper de Karl Popper.

Según este modelo, dos participantes destinados a entablar una conversación de cualquier tipo, A1 y A2, pueden establecer un proceso comunicativo porque comparten ciertos rasgos culturales en común, el más importante de los cuales es un lenguaje común a los dos.

Una vez se lleva a cabo la comunicación, tenemos que cada uno de los participantes ha sufrido la influencia de la misma. No tal y como lo planteaba Shannon, que se basó en matematizar la relación entre emisor y receptor, sin contar con el "factor efecto". Lazarsfeld fue uno de los pioneros en destacar las influencias que podría tener el acto comunicativo en el emisor.

Los modelos más complejos, planteados posteriormente, como el de Maletzke, asumen "ya para siempre" las compulsiones que el receptor, el medio y el mensaje tendrán en el emisor.

Volviendo al caso AC1, esta influencia del proceso comunicativo podemos encontrarla, por ejemplo, en el caso de la comunicar un embarazo. En este hipotético caso, A1, una doctora de un hospital, comunica a A2, una chica de veinticinco años, que está embarazada. En este caso, los efectos comunicativos AC2 y AC1 podemos interpretarlos como la alegría de la madre primeriza y la satisfacción de la doctora al ver la alegría de la madre (hemos expresado un ejemplo de influencia recíproca intencionalmente no verbal, para recalcar la potencia del efecto sin necesidad del lenguaje oral).

Pero esto no termina aquí, pues esos efectos influirán también "ya siempre" en cada uno de los "mundos subjetivos" de A1 y A2. Los mundos internos de cada uno de los participantes se ven modificados por cada acto comunicativo que se establece a lo largo de la experiencia vital. La influencia del acto comunicativo puede ser más o menos previsible dependiendo de la situación comunicativa en que nos encontremos.

En cuanto al mundo objetivo, los efectos de la comunicación AC1 y AC2 serán tan determinantes como en sus respectivas vivencias internas. Siguiendo con el ejemplo anterior, la doctora aportará datos estadísticos e información biosanitaria sobre el nuevo embarazo, al igual que la madre. En este punto cabe destacar las influencias de los mundos subjetivos en el plano del conocimiento colectivo objetivado, ya que A2 (nuestra futura madre), al estar feliz por recibir la noticia de esa profesional, puede comentar en futuros procesos comunicativos información positiva sobre la médica que la atendió (nuestro A1), influida por la alegría del mensaje recibido, y por lo tanto influyendo en los datos objetivos (véase las notas sacadas por nuestra médica en la carrera, o la cantidad que tiene que pagar al seguro de mala praxis) que son tomados de referencia por otras personas sobre A1.

Esto está en perfecta sintonía con el mundo social, es decir, la influencia de la comunicación en la relación preestablecida entre los participantes. A2 apreciará más a A1 tras el mensaje de su embarazo, y la conducta de A1 se verá influida para con A2 por la estima que esta le tiene desde que se produjo la comunicación original.

Pues bien, todo cuanto hemos expuesto aquí (Comunicación entre A1 y A2, la cultura y lenguaje que comparten, sus mundos internos, el mundo objetivo que comparten y el mundo social que establecen) es lo que conforma el Mundo de la vida. De ahí la afirmación de Habermas: "los agentes participantes de la comunicación se mueven dentro del horizonte del mundo de la vida y de ahí no pueden salirse".
El concepto de Horizonte, como el del propio Lebenswelt, nacen de la teoría de Husserl, que veremos más adelante.

Relación del Lebenswelt con la "Teoría de los tres mundos"
Una vez explicado el gráfico del Mundo de la vida, pensamos que se puede exprimir un poco más el concepto de "los tres mundos". Karl Popper desarrolló esta teoría estableciendo la existencia de tres mundos (el físico, el objetivo-colectivo y el intersubjetivo). Pues bien, podemos usar esta división para nuestro propósito, siguiendo las indicaciones de Habermas.
Tenemos, por una parte, el mundo objetivo, que es la totalidad de las entidades sobre las que se pueden elaborar enunciados verdaderos.

El mundo social sería la totalidad de relaciones interpersonales reguladas legítimamente.

Por último, el mundo subjetivo, sería la totalidad de las propias vivencias a las que cada cual tiene un acceso privilegiado y que el emisor puede manifestar de forma veraz ante una audiencia.
Habermas explica en varias tablas los "criterios de verdad", un tema que le preocupaba profundamente para poder fundamentar su "acción comunicativa". Los criterios, referidos a la división que hemos realizado, son:

Mundo objetivo --> El criterio es la verdad
Mundo social -----> El criterio es la rectitud
Mundo subjetivo -> El criterio es la veracidad

Habermas piensa que la constante racionalización del mundo de la vida implicará la diferenciación progresiva de sus diversos elementos. El mundo de la vida se compone de la cultura, la sociedad y la personalidad. Cada uno de estos elementos hace referencia a pautas interpretativas o suposiciones básicas sobre la cultura y su influencia sobre la acción, a pautas apropiadas de relaciones sociales (la sociedad) y al modo de ser de las personas (la personalidad) y de comportarse. Comprometerse en la acción comunicativa y lograr la comprensión en cada uno de estos elementos conduce a la reproducción del mundo de la vida mediante el refuerzo de la cultura, la integración de la sociedad y la formación de la personalidad.
Si bien estos componentes están inextricablemente ligados en las sociedades arcaicas (Durkheim), la racionalización del mundo de la vida implica la "creciente diferenciación entre la cultura, la sociedad y la personalidad".

Por lo tanto, en analogía a la división de los tres mundos, tenemos la siguiente división:
 La cultura, articulada como los "conocimientos objetivos" compartidos dentro de una sociedad. Entrecomillamos aquí el término "conocimientos objetivos", ya que vamos a seguir la definición de Habermas de cultura (acervo de saber en que los participantes en la comunicación se abastecen de interpretaciones para entenderse sobre algo en el mundo), y podría llevar a conclusiones. No son datos objetivos universales, sino más bien datos "seguros" y "estables", que son tomados como veraces por los miembros de una cultura y que, casi siempre, su original "veracidad" termina tomándose como una "verdad absoluta" y, además, se enarbola como bandera y símbolo cultural. Por ejemplo, los hindúes no comen ciertos animales porque su mitología, que no es más que la explicación teológica-primitiva de su realidad, cree en la reencarnación. Actualmente, los hindúes siguen considerando a animales domésticos como las vacas de carácter sagrado y es uno de sus símbolos culturales de cara al exterior, a pesar de que mueran cientos de personas de hambre. La cultura expresa, en definitiva, el aspecto más funcional del entendimiento(Verständigung)
 La sociedad es para Habermas el conjunto de ordenaciones legítimas a través de las cuales los participantes regulan sus pertenencias a grupos sociales, asegurando con ello la solidaridad. Se aprecia aquí de nuevo la influencia de la "conciencia colectiva" de Durkheim. Como en el caso anterior, también aquí la integración social del mundo de la vida se encarga de que las situaciones nuevas queden conectadas con los estados del mundo preexistentes. A diferencia de la cultura, no se trata aquí de la dimensión semántica, sino del espacio social. Como el mismo carácter "social" que conlleva este punto, decimos que la sociedad expresa el aspecto de coordinación de la acción.
 La personalidad es, por último, el conjunto de competencias de un individuo que le permiten aprender, comprender y usar un lenguaje y, por lo tanto, capaz de producir una acción, esto es, en capaz de tomar parte en procesos de entendimiento. La personalidad es el primer filtro psicológico para toda novedad que llegue por vía comunicativa y, en términos sociológicos, es el escalafón necesario para conseguir llevar a cabo el proceso de socialización.

Expresado esto, volvemos a la disyuntiva Mundo de la vida/Sistema. Habermas sabía que su principal problema a la hora de elaborar una teoría crítica consistente esa, llegado a este punto, la conexión entre la perspectiva Lebenswelt y la perspectiva sistema.

Citando literalmente a Habermas:
"La perspectiva de la integración social se centra en el mundo de la vida y los modos en los que el sistema de la acción se integra por medio de un consenso garantizado normativamente o alcanzado mediante la comunicación (...) (mientras que) la perspectiva de la integración del sistema hace referencia al sistema y al mundo en que se integra mediante el ejercicio de control externo sobre las decisiones individuales no coordinadas subjetivamente".

Esto también puede leerse como punto de vista interno (integración social) o punto de vista externo (sistema). El punto de vista interno es, como apunta Ritzer en su crítica a Habermas, seguido por éste para referirse a Marx o Weber, quienes leían y teorizaban sobre la realidad como actores integrados en ella, mientras que Durkheim teorizaba desde el punto de vista del observador externo.

Así que Habermas reconoce las serias limitaciones de ambas perspectivas, aunque afirma que tienen algo que ofrecer. La solución que propone es una integración de ambas perspectivas (Lebenswelt y sistema), articulando la sociedad como una entidad sistémica que es a su vez Lebenswelt:

"La sociedad como un sistema que tiene que cumplir condiciones para el mantenimiento de los mundos de la vida socioculturales. Las sociedades-fórmula son complejos sistemáticamente estabilizados de acción de grupos socialmente integrados... Defiendo la propuesta heurística de que consideremos la sociedad como una entidad que, en el transcurso de la evolución social, se va diferenciando como sistema y como mundo de la vida".

Aparte de esta aportación teórica, Habermas tendrá que resolver el problema de denominó la "colonización del mundo de la vida", que viene a ser la intromisión de los diferentes sistemas en el ámbito de la Lebenswelt.
Un ejemplo de colonización sistémica es la continua, y a veces asfixiante, legislación sobre ciertos productos, como el vino, que ha pasado de ser una bebida tradicional para el almuerzo a un producto industrial perfectamente legislado en cuanto a origen, transporte, distribución y consumo. La sistematización del mundo de la vida conlleva la instrumentalización de éste y su consecuente agotamiento.

Conclusiones
Centrándonos en el tema del mundo de la vida, podemos deducir varias conclusiones:

1) Habermas ve a la sociedad humana constituyéndose a partir de unidades mínimas de acción, como Mead y Parson, pero esta acción no es la del individuo aislado, sino de sus procesos comunicativos, los que definen acciones mínimas y significativas, simbólicamente estructuradas. Es la base del establecimiento de la acción comunicativa como teoría sólida frente a las corrientes de Weber o Marx.

2) La acción comunicativa existe porque se da un consenso inconsciente (Lebenswelt) sobre lo que significa lo hablado, un consenso aproblemático.

3) Este consenso aproblemático es posible porque se comparten criterios de verdad; convirtiendo la temática de la verdad en la acción comunicativa en un importante tema de discusión para diversos autores, porque proporciona los conceptos necesarios para enfrentar el problema de la falsa conciencia (Marx) y la reificación (Lukács).

Evolución de la lectura del Lebenswelt de Habermas tras su TAC II
Tras la publicación de su Teoría de la acción comunicativa, Habermas recibió centenares de críticas sobre algunos de sus conceptos, lo que le llevó a revisar parte de su teoría para darle más consistencia. Respecto al concepto de mundo de la vida, la revisión de Habermas se refirió al Lebenswelt como si fuera una intuición central de un mundo circundante originario, sino que alude a aquellos elementos que destacan el carácter intersubjetivo del mismo entorno vital, por lo que se trataría en consecuencia de una reutilización de esta categoría fenomenológica para justificar una teoría intersubjetiva de la sociedad.

La categoría del mundo de la vida se volvió central en la teoría de Habermas para entender adecuadamente la Teoría de la Acción Comunicativa. Tras enunciar su crítica a la fenomenología de Husserl, puesto que consideraba que esta emanaba aún de una filosofía de la conciencia, mientras que él pretendía reconstruirla en diálogo con Schütz y Luckmann en el marco de una acción intersubjetiva, como un "acervo de patrones de interpretación transmitidos cultural y lingüísticamente".

Habermas llega a incluir la acción comunicativa pura en un mundo de la vida que se encarga de absorber riesgos de disentimiento, un masivo consenso de fondo.
Una de las últimas definiciones de Lebenswelt fue su interpretación en un sentido histórico-cultural que precede todo posible acuerdo intersubjetivo y toda actitud que nos permita objetivar un conocimiento intercultural

Lebenswelt en Edmund Husserl
El concepto de Lebenswelt nace de la Fenomenología, una corriente filosófica que tiene su origen en las teorías de Edmund Husserl. A lo largo de toda su obra, y especialmente en sus Investigaciones Lógicas, Husserl llevó a cabo una exhaustiva formulación matemática de la realidad, mediante relaciones lógicas entre distintos conceptos y variables. Respecto al contexto de las comunicaciones humanas, ideó el término Lebenswelt como "Los límites del mundo de la vida que no pueden trascenderse".

En su discurso, Husserl parte de que existe una actitud natural en los hombres, presuponiendo que cada sujeto vive su relación cotidiana con el mundo según una posición espontánea frente a la realidad exterior, que entiende que las cosas "simplemente están ahí delante, en sentido literal o figurado". Por lo tanto, a grandes rasgos, el mundo es para la actitud natural la totalidad de las cosas vividas. Mundo y realidad se disponen como contenidos trascendentales, objetividades que la conciencia refiere después de percibir a través de los sentidos y de reflejar en función de los actos.
Husserl fue dirigiendo paulatinamente toda su fenomenología desde una perspectiva estrictamente descriptiva de la conciencia a otra "trascendental" o "idealista" por la que la realidad entendida en un sentido natural era reducida a la intersubjetividad de los objetos de la intencionalidad.

Lebenswelt en Schütz y Luckmann
Schütz y Luckmann fueron quizás los que más influyeron en las revisiones que Habermas tuvo que hacer en cuanto al concepto de Lebenswelt. Según ellos, el mundo cotidiano de la vida es aquel ámbito de realidad que el adulto en estado de vigilia y normal da por descontado, en la actitud del sano sentido común. Es algo que viene dado aproblemáticamente, es decir, sin que nos hagamos cuestión de ello. Schütz y Luckmann heredan el concepto de mundo de la vida como el resultado de la intersubjetividad de muchas conciencias.

Habermas afirmó después que el mundo de la vida es algo común, pero que queda afuera de todo disentimiento posible, no puede ser controvertido como un conocimiento intersubjetivamente compartido, sino que lo más que puede es venirse abajo. Podemos concluir que Schütz y Luckmann subestiman el poder del lenguaje que Habermas sí se encarga de ensalzar.

Pese a este matiz, es preciso considerar que tanto Schutz como Luckmann ven este concepto como una posible fundamentación filosófica de las ciencias sociales, ideas que también desarrollarían posteriormente Peter Berger y Aaron Gurvitch.

Lebenswelt en Searle
Searle consideraba en mundo de la vida, desde su práctica perspectiva norteamericana, como una red intuitivamente presente y por tanto familiar y transparente y, sin embargo, a la vez inabarcable, de presuposiciones que han de cumplirse para que la emisión que se hace pueda tener sentido, es decir, para que pueda ser válida.

Lebenswelt según la Universidad de Stanford
Según un artículo de James Bohman y William Rehg, incluido posteriormente en la Enciclopedia de Filosofía de Stanford, Habermas clasifica el "sistema" como un conjunto de situaciones predefinidas, o modos de coordinación, en el cual las demandas de acción comunicativa son dejadas de lado, dentro de unos límites legales específicos. El principal ejemplo de coordinación sistémica son los mercados y la burocracia. En esa sistematización de contextos estructurados, los procesos de comunicación no verbales aumentan la fluidez de la coordinación de acciones, la cual no puede entenderse sin partir de las bases del dinero y el poder institucional. (…)

El término "mundo de la vida", por el contrario, se refiere al ámbito de la acción en el cual predominan los procesos consensuados. De hecho, la distinción entre mundo de la vida y sistema se comprende mejor como una analítica que identifica diferentes aspectos de la interacción y la cooperación social. El mundo de la vida se refiere a los recursos de base, contextos y dimensiones de la acción social que hacen posible a los actores cooperar dentro de las bases de un mutuo entendimiento: sistemas culturales con significados compartidos, normas institucionales que estabilizan patrones de acción y estructuras de personalidad adquiridas en la familia, iglesia, vecindario y escuela.

Lebenswelt según la Universidad de Berkeley
Hemos preferido incluir aquí otro punto de vista de una Universidad norteamericana, en este caso la de Berkeley, fuertemente influida en el campo filosófico por las teorías de Searle; para ofrecer una crítica alejada del pensamiento alemán y europeo respecto al Lebenswelt. El párrafo siguiente es un extracto de un artículo traducido de la base de datos de la Universidad de Berkeley, una crítica a Habermas basada en la obra de Jim McGuigan.
Parte de una pregunta: ¿Cómo es que somos meros sirvientes de un "entendimiento recíproco" y nos encontramos conformados con el lado opuesto de una división intelectual (las dos partes de un diálogo)?

Esta separación es la manifestación local de la aún más fundamental división entre racionalidad crítica y racionalidad instrumental; división que se articula en Habermas como sistema frente a mundo de la vida y los principios inmanentes de éste a la racionalidad. (...) Cuando la comunicación no se ve, relativamente, distorsionada por relaciones de poder y cuando el interés común se encuentra dentro de unos horizontes compartidos de significado, así como de condiciones vitales compartidas, la racionalidad comunicativa se orienta hacia el mutuo entendimiento.

Por el contrario, la racionalidad instrumental que caracteriza al sistema se basa en los conceptos humanos de valor y significado y su único objetivo es alcanzar un fin. El camino para lograr este fin está dictado por estructuras preexistentes de clases y poder burocrático. Esta oposición entre sistema y mundo de la vida se ve mejor representada, en términos económicos, en la diferencia que Habermas realizó entre praxis y técnica. La primera es concebida como la evaluación razonada de la validez de los modos de actuar, mientras que la técnica sólo es concebida como la selección racional de los mejores instrumentos para encontrar resultados particulares una vez las marcas normativas para la acción social han sido determinadas. (Habermas 1974, 1–3).

Véase también
Escuela de Frankfurt
Habermas
Husserl

Referencias

Bibliografía
 [Interpretación del concepto de Lebenswelt, según Habermas y otros autores. Antonio Vázquez González (Artículo para la Universidad de Sevilla)]
 [Teoría de la acción comunicativa, Vol. II. Jürgen Habermas]
 [Teoría de la acción comunicativa: complementos y estudios previos. Jürgen Habermas]
 [Investigaciones lógicas, vol. I y II: Edmund Husserl]

Enlaces externos
 : Información de Habermas, según la Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, desde la visión de los autores James Bohman y William Rehg.
 : Información de Albert Schütz, según la Stanford Encyclopedia of philosophy, desde la visión del autor Michael Barber.
 : Artículo de la universidad de Berkeley basado en las teorías de Jim McGuigan en su revisión a la teoría de Habermas.

Escuela de Fráncfort
Sociología de Alemania
Germanismos usados en filosofía
Teoría de la comunicación


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Home » Student Lawyer Blog » Student Lawyer » Lawyers reveal the best advice they've received from their colleagues
Lawyers reveal the best advice they've received from their colleagues
G.M. Filisko • October 01, 2019
Paula Boggs shares advice on legal careers during the ABA Young Lawyers Division Plenary during the 2019 ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Paula Boggs and N. Cornell Boggs III (center)are two of the first African American siblings to lead legal departments at Fortune 500 companies. YLD leader Dave Morrow (left) served as moderator.
What may seem like offhand advice from someone you pass in the office hallway can actually be life-changing and valuable insight—if you're paying attention. These lawyers were, and they're grateful for the wisdom imparted by fellow lawyers at some point in their career.
Making clients feel at home, in so many ways
As a young lawyer hanging my shingle, I was hungry for any tidbits of advice. One of the best I received was from a veteran female lawyer. Her advice was to talk to clients. Let them see you as a human being, as a person to whom they can relate.
In her experience, she'd seen a trend where lawyers, under the guise of professionalism, kept clients at a distance. Lawyers were there to be the experts with the answers and not clients' friends. That often translated into clients not trusting their lawyers, leading to an unpleasant experience.
With this in mind, I had made client experience the forefront of my practice. I want my clients to feel like family, especially because, as an estate planning attorney, trust and comfort is most imperative for my ability to give my clients the best service.
When I was a little further into my practice, I met an attorney on her deathbed. She had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and was looking for an attorney to whom to refer her clients. During our meeting, we talked about maintaining work-life balance.
I had two minor children and was struggling with being a mom and a solo practitioner.
Her best tidbit: When buying a home, be deliberate in picking one that would allow me to have a home office where I could meet clients. That would help me be available to my kiddos when they needed me while enabling me to keep practicing—the best of both worlds.
I worried about clients being uncomfortable with the notion of a home office. She explained that that had been her path and that the clients who minded weren't the ones I should be marketing to, anyway. When it came time to purchase my home, I added the home office as a must-have.
For four years, I've operated a home office, and it hasn't affected my practice at all. In fact, clients love the idea of the home office because it's a lot more comfortable of an environment for them while discussing their end-of-life decisions.
All of this has affected me as an individual but also how I approach my practice and others with whom I interact.
Jan A. Meyer is the owner of the Law Office of Jan A. Meyer in Dana Point, Calif.
Goal-setting would have made things easier
The importance of having detailed 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year plans is the best piece of advice I've received from a colleague. It's been instrumental in shaping my legal career as well as creating a trajectory for my law firm.
Back when I was getting my law degree, we were always told to have structured and well-thought-out plans for the future. I knew I wanted to run my own law firm, and while I realized that I'd need to work my way up from the bottom as a new attorney, the space between those milestones was all gray area. In retrospect, clarifying my goals and the steps to reach them sooner for both the short term and the long term would have helped make that process even smoother.
Some time after I graduated, I decided to buckle down and create short-, medium-, and long-term goals. They were all conducive to me opening the doors to my very own law firm—and I couldn't be happier with my decision. The short-term goals dictate the day-to-day decisions.
They're more easily attainable and you get quicker results. The medium-term goals are in terms of months or even years. Your short-term goals should work toward these.
Long-term goals are the ones that are past the horizon. To achieve these, you need to chip away at those medium-term goals.
The law firm was my long-term goal, but the most important thing is to never stop making these plans, even after you've finished a long-term goal. These will keep you motivated and constantly evolving and progressing as your life and career unfold.
Lance J. Robinson is a criminal defense lawyer in New Orleans.
Principles worth remembering for four decades
These are the index-card points I've kept for more than 42 years in federal service, private practice, and teaching:
Efficiency is crucial, but you must remember that you need to leave at a reasonable time. Leaving work on your desk for tomorrow is essential and the sign of a booming practice.
Learn to recover from a mistake. Think on your feet and anticipate problems, particularly at trial. If everything were black and white, there'd be no reason for litigation. Most trials are close calls, not 95 percent-5 percent questions.
A settlement is better than a good trial. Ninety-five percent-plus of civil cases settle. Certainty and capping expenses and exposureare the goals of most clients.
Prepare and over prepare. Hard work is crucial. You must both know the law and master the facts. Some lawyers are great at the facts; others are good on the legal issues. The most successful are masters at both.
You'll never find a case that can't be lost. But not every case can be won.
Know how and when a case should be settled.
Never be overly optimistic in reports to clients. Be honest and accurate, but clients will be less concerned about unexpected good results than the failure to achieve overly optimistic goals.
Lawrence B. Brennan is an adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law in New York City.
Offering respect shows your strength
I think the best piece of advice I ever received was at the start of my clerkship.
The first project I worked on was an opinion that had led to serious disagreements between two of the judges on the appellate panel and had generated a dissenting opinion. The correspondence between the judges as they circulated the draft opinion and dissent had grown unusually sharp, and at the time, it seemed like a crisis to me.
I asked the judge how he could have such a serious conflict with one of his colleagues and then go about working with that judge on other cases. His answer has stuck with me: "You can disagree without being disagreeable."
What I took that to mean is that you can strenuously advocate for your client's position, or indeed your own, and still treat your colleagues, opponents, and self with respect.
That's an important lesson in this business because all too often, it feels like a weakness to maintain a pleasant and professional attitude when you're frustrated by the actions of your opponent.
In reality, the refusal to let a professional disagreement provoke an emotional response is a strength.
David Lieberman is a member at Whistleblower Law Collective in Boston.
Trust translates to success
The best advice I received from a senior lawyer was: "Be the kind of lawyer you'd want to hire."
In an industry that has a branding problem, this lawyer said the greatest compliment was clients who would refer him to friends and family with such comments as, "A lot of lawyers would overcharge you, but not Brian."
His clients trusted him, and, in turn, he had a happy and successful career.
Michael Alexis is general counsel at Museum Hack.
You're not networking; you're meeting friends
The best advice I've ever heard was with respect to networking, a necessary word in the profession but one that can be dreaded by new lawyers. A colleague told me not to think about networking as a schmoozy type endeavor and instead to focus on building genuine connections with people you enjoy speaking to and spending time with.
When I began to approach networking this way, I found it much easier to interact with colleagues. It takes the pressure off if you just focus on having conversations with people about topics you enjoy, and the benefits from making those connections will follow.
Some more substantive advice I received relates to not stressing yourself out over things you can't control. Obviously, we're always trying to get the best result we can for a client, but it's important to realize that some things are out of our control. Did your client beep his horn while running through a stoplight that had long since turned red, and the entire thing was caught on a nearby vehicle's dash cam? Well, then, there's very little you can do to demonstrate that he didn't cause the accident—and that's out of your control.
Another piece of advice that has been extremely helpful was from a colleague who advised me that new attorneys should treat all the more-senior attorneys they work with as their clients. Often, the way new attorneys are evaluated depends on the specific people they're working with. The most valued junior attorneys are those with whom a plethora of attorneys in the office want to work.
Ashlyn Capote is an associate at Goldberg Segalla in Buffalo, N.Y.
What's the deadline? Seriously, what's the deadline?
I work for a small firm, but prior to this, I worked in BigLaw in Manhattan. The best advice I received from colleagues there was to always understand the deadline for assignments.
Often, you're given assignments informally without definite deadlines. You want to make sure you have a definite, "drop-dead" date for the assignment so you know how to prioritize it. It's never fun having your boss ask for something you haven't even started.
Evan Reeves Alonzo is a lawyer and CPA at The Law Office of David S. Howard in San Jose, Calif.
Don't pretend you know more than you do
One of the most important things I've learned from my father, who's also a lawyer, is not to talk about something unless you know what you're talking about. In my legal practice, this has meant that sometimes it's best to hold my tongue in front of judges and other attorneys instead of pretending I'm well versed on a topic. This avoids uncomfortable situations and, I believe, builds my credibility.
The second most important thing I've learned is to try not to rely on others too much to get the job done and to never be afraid to learn more. There's always something you don't know, and consistently learning is important to being the best version of yourself.
Zachary Perecman is an associate at The Perecman Firm in New York City.
Leave the lawyer in you at the office
The best advice I ever got from an attorney is the best advice I can give. First and foremost, go home! Set a reasonable hour to leave the office and stick to it. My deadline is 6:30. Anything that isn't done by 6:30 doesn't get finished until tomorrow.
The second thing I'd say is to leave the attorney at the office. Our profession is adversarial by nature. You get used to being disagreeable. It's our job to present the opposite position or to find the holes in the argument.
That might make you a good lawyer, but it also makes you a jerk if you do the same thing outside the office.
Don't cross-examine your mate unless you want to find another mate.
Michael Dye is the founder of The Law Offices of Michael A. Dye in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Is what you're about to do worth the outcome?
The best advice I've ever been told by a fellow attorney is: "It's not worth it."
Our capacity to bill by the hour always makes us think that more is better. It simply isn't. Our job is to provide value to clients. A crisp, 2-page motion that took an hour is worth more than a 20-page motion that took 10 hours. This "more is better" philosophy becomes so blatant that lawyers end up cutting clients' bills to keep clients satisfied.
Because most of a litigator's work involves some kind of conflict, almost any action or reaction just fans the flames of that conflict. Again, in a holistic sense, any lawyer's action has to be "worth it," and often it just isn't. The best lawyers know to ask that question: Is it worth it? They're also able to not act when the answer is no.
Russell D. Knight is founder of the Law Office of Russell D. Knight in Naples, Fla.
Your time isn't as valuable as you think
Before I opened my firm, I sat down with a ton of lawyers and asked them for advice and guidance, and my entire practice has been built around that advice. Here's some that still really stands out:
Keep your overhead low. This is immensely helpful, especially at the beginning, because it allows you to adapt to any opportunities that come your way as well as limit your losses when you have a bad month. Even now, four years later, when we're bringing in upwards of $60,000 a month, I still try to cut wasted money here and there so we can keep investing in the firm.
Your time is worth nothing. This is another one that really matters at the beginning. Lots of attorneys won't want to do something because it's not worth their time. That might be true, but at the beginning, your time is worth nothing. When I started out, I took some cases for whatever the client had and did any paid coverage I could. These led to more cases, better connections, and so on. Those still help me today, even if I now turn down a lot of cases because they're not worth our time and efforts anymore (although we do keep a list of three to five attorneys for different matters to which to refer those cases so that we can build connections with them).
Put yourself in your client's shoes. A lot of the very successful attorneys I spoke to talked to me about empathy and how to use that to better my firm. Now that's a huge part of our core values. Empathize with clients when you can, and realize they're coming to you in their biggest time of need. You need to be cognizant of that.
Jordan Ostroff is the managing partner at Jordan Law in Orlando, Fla.
Don't negotiate your deal breakers
During a recent young-partner panel at our firm's associate retreat, the advice was to "never negotiate your non-negotiables."
For lawyers who negotiate everything, that's a mantra to live by. Think about your non-negotiables, write them down, and fight for them. Bumble date? Religious observance? Tucking your kids in? Make it happen. If you find it impossible, the answer isn't to compromise those nonnegotiables. It may be to find a better fit elsewhere.
Krysta Gumbiner is a litigation associate in the Chicago office of Dinsmore & Shohl.
Follow your passion
I'm an immigration lawyer, and I wanted to open my own practice. My most supportive lawyer friends would tell me to trust my own gut, to take a chance on a calculated risk, and to live what I felt was my dream. Today, I have a $1 million- plus practice per year doing soul-fulfilling work. I'm grateful for that push, which led me to where I am today.
Renata Castro is the founding attorney of Castro Legal Group in Pompano Beach, Fla.
Watching a colleague be a superhero
Ever been blown away by someone's grace under pressure? Here, lawyers recall moments when their colleagues made an impression— and the life lessons they took from those experiences.
Recently, I became involved in a trust litigation matter. Opposing counsel was difficult, to say the least. I ended up having to find co-counsel to assist me with the process. She was amazing in how she handled opposing counsel, calmly explaining the law to him when he was mistaken and never raising her voice, even when he became irate.
This was even more evident during our hearing, when opposing counsel became argumentative with her and the judge. My co-counsel was the consummate professional. She directed her conversations to the judge, never to opposing counsel.
The judge ruled in our favor, which was a victory in so many ways. I can't imagine that remaining calm in the face of such behavior was easy for her, but she definitely handled that interaction with grace.
Sometimes, it's best to not act
I once had a case where a massive miscommunication could have caused a terrible, irreversible error. The attorney on the other side kept cool and said, "Let's see what happens."
Two weeks later, the possible irreversible error never happened, and everything went back to normal. I was so impressed.
Hey, life happens; roll with it
A couple of years ago, a young female partner at our firm found herself in a true pickle. Her nonnegotiable is that she gets her school-aged children out the door every morning and doesn't leave for work until the nanny shows up for the youngest one.
One day, her nanny failed to show up for work, her husband was already at work, she had a hearing scheduled for 9:30 a.m., and her three-year-old, unfortunately, couldn't babysit himself. In true superwoman style, she packed up her son, made it to court on time, and explained the situation to the judge and opposing counsel—both of whom laughed understandingly.
The hearing went forward.
I was in awe of her ability to seemingly handle it all, but I also realized that, despite the bad press, we work in a great profession. Our colleagues accepted that sometimes life happens, despite our best efforts, and accommodated that partner's personal life so she could succeed professionally.
I was encouraged and inspired by it.
Advice, Career Advice, September October 2019,
G.M. Filisko G.M. Filisko is the editor of Student Lawyer Magazine. She earned her law degree in 1998 from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She practiced civil litigation at two large Chicago firms until 2005, when she became a freelance writer and editor.
Author Link • Website • Linkedin •

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Driver, passenger killed in one-car crash
Thedy were traveling at a high rate of speed, PBSO says
Updated: 7:31 PM EDT Sep 20, 2018
Two Palm Beach County residents died when their car struck a wall early Thursday morning, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said Thursday night.Oshane Edwards, the driver of a 2003 Nissan 350Z, and Kamron Greenidge died along the 3600 block of North Jog Road at 1:30 a.m. near Jaega Middle School. The 22-year-olds were born on the same date.Edwards performed as DJ Shane O on Wedneday night at Pan Chicken Bar and Grill, 11150 Okeechobee Blvd., in Royal Palm Beach, south of the accident site. His act was part of the Mid Week Vibes After Work Jam weekly from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. The vehicle was traveling north on North Jog Road at a high rate of speed, PBSO said. Subsequently, the driver lost control and went into a spin, slid sideways approximately 400 feet and ultimately crashed into a cement wall.Both occupants were pronounced dead at the scene.Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the West Palm Beach Police Department.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —
Two Palm Beach County residents died when their car struck a wall early Thursday morning, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said Thursday night.
Oshane Edwards, the driver of a 2003 Nissan 350Z, and Kamron Greenidge died along the 3600 block of North Jog Road at 1:30 a.m. near Jaega Middle School.
The 22-year-olds were born on the same date.
Edwards performed as DJ Shane O on Wedneday night at Pan Chicken Bar and Grill, 11150 Okeechobee Blvd., in Royal Palm Beach, south of the accident site. His act was part of the Mid Week Vibes After Work Jam weekly from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.
The vehicle was traveling north on North Jog Road at a high rate of speed, PBSO said. Subsequently, the driver lost control and went into a spin, slid sideways approximately 400 feet and ultimately crashed into a cement wall.
Both occupants were pronounced dead at the scene.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the West Palm Beach Police Department.


Michael Kors states, it has conducted a number of 'civil seizures' of counterfeit goods sporting the brand's federally registered trademarks,' across a range of roducts. The firm states the seizures have taken place 'in the space rented or leased by' to New York-based company Am-Tex Apparels and other unnamed defendant counterfeit-sellers, yet they claim Amush Entertprises has ignored correspondence and 'done nothing to stop the ongoing counterfeiting activity at the property.' Kors argues Amush Enterprises and any other owners of the building should 'be held accountable for their complicity in these illegal activities' and is claiming damages. Attempts to tackle the problem have been made before, when in the early 2000s, a number of lawsuits were filed by fashion brands against landlords and flea market owners in the city.


text:
#Unexpected results in new #COVID-19 #'cytokine storm' data
The immune system overactivation known as a "cytokine storm" does not play a major role in more severe COVID-19 outcomes, according to unexpected findings in new research. The findings stand in direct contrast to many previous reports.
"We were indeed surprised by the results of our study," senior study author Peter Pickkers, MD, PhD, said in an interview.
In a unique approach, Dr. Pickkers and colleagues compared cytokine levels in critically ill people with COVID-19 with those in patients with bacterial sepsis, trauma, and after cardiac arrest.
"For the first time, we measured the cytokines in different diseases using the same methods. Our results convincingly show that the circulating cytokine concentrations are not higher, but lower, compared to other diseases," said Dr. Pickkers, who is affiliated with the department of intensive care medicine at Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
The team's research was published online on Sept. 3 in a letter in JAMA.
Cytokines lower than expected
Normally, cytokines trigger inflammation and promote healing after trauma, infection, or other conditions.
Although a cytokine storm remains ill defined, the authors noted, many researchers have implicated a hyperinflammatory response involving these small proteins in the pathophysiology of COVID-19.
The question remains, however, whether all cytokine storms strike people with different conditions the same way.
Dr. Pickkers, lead author Matthijs Kox, PhD, and colleagues studied 46 people with COVID-19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) who were admitted to the ICU at Radboud University Medical Center. All participants underwent mechanical ventilation and were treated between March 11 and April 27, 2020.
The investigators measured plasma levels of cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin-6, and IL-8. They compared results in this group with those in 51 patients who experienced septic shock and ARDS, 15 patients with septic shock without ARDS, 30 people with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, and 62 people who experienced multiple traumas. They used historical data for the non–COVID-19 cohorts.
Conditional findings
Compared with patients with septic shock and ARDS, the COVID-19 cohort had lower levels of TNF, IL-6, and IL-8. The differences were statistically significant for TNF (P < .01), as well as for IL-6 and IL-8 concentrations (for both, P < .001).
In addition, the COVID-19 group had significantly lower IL-6 and IL-8 concentrations compared with the patients who had septic shock without ARDS.
The researchers likewise found lower concentrations of IL-8 in patients with COVID-19, compared with the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients. IL-8 levels did not differ between the COVID-19 and trauma groups.
Furthermore, the researchers found no differences in IL-6 concentrations between patients with COVID-19 and those who experienced out-of-hospital cardiac arrest or trauma.
However, levels of TNF in people with COVID-19 were higher than in trauma patients.
The small sample sizes and single-center study design are limitations.
"The findings of this preliminary analysis suggest COVID-19 may not be characterized by cytokine storm," the researchers noted. However, they added, "whether anticytokine therapies will benefit patients with COVID-19 remains to be determined."
Going forward, Dr. Pickkers and colleagues are investigating the effectiveness of different treatments to lower cytokine levels. They are treating people with COVID-19, for example, with the IL-1 cytokine inhibitor anakinra and steroids.
They also plan to assess the long-term effects of COVID-19 on the immune system. "Following an infection, it is known that the immune system may be suppressed for a longer period of time, and we are determining to what extent this is also present in COVID-19 patients," Dr. Pickkers said.
Enough to cause a storm?
The study "is quite interesting, and data in this paper are consistent with our data," Tadamitsu Kishimoto, MD, PhD, of the department of immune regulation at the Immunology Frontier Research Center at Osaka (Japan) University, said in an interview.
His study, published online August 21 in PNAS, also revealed lower serum IL-6 levels among people with COVID-19, compared with patients with bacterial ARDS or sepsis.
Dr. Kishimoto drew a distinction, however: COVID-19 patients can develop severe respiratory failure, suggesting a distinct immune reaction, compared with patients with bacterial sepsis. SARS-CoV-2 directly infects and activates endothelial cells rather than macrophages, as occurs in sepsis.
For this reason, Dr. Kishimoto said, "SARS-CoV-2 infection causes critical illness and severe dysfunction in respiratory organs and induces a cytokine storm," even in the setting of lower but still elevated serum IL-6 levels.
Dr. Pickkers and Dr. Kishimoto reported no relevant financial relationships.
This story first appeared on Medscape.com.
Esta publicação foi postada em artigos médicos, Cardiologia, Cuidados intensivos, Infeciologia, medicina, Medicina de Família, medicina de urgencias, Terapia Intensiva e marcada 'cytokine storm', COVID-19.
#Que faire devant une #arythmie asymptomatique ?
#Inmunidad, secuelas, tratamientos… todo lo que la medicina sabe de la #Covid-19 en la actualidad


Scorin' gets your rings, why you tryin' to rebound?
And I'ma post two hours, what you gon' do?
Those dude reachable, I'm like Captain E.O.
And "sorry Wale"s "I was wrong, I was trippin'.
Would you please be a saint and have the patience to forgive me?"
She said, "I love ya. That's why I do this eye to eye."
Kiss me on the cheek as she whispered, "This the last time.


Forget dealing with the stress of preparing and hosting your child's big party. Leave it all to us! This is what we have lived and breathed for nearly 2 decades.
Please keep in mind that when you organise a child's party yourself, it all adds up. From booking a hall/space, decorating it, getting entertainers, party prizes, food and drinks for children and adults and then the massive clean up!
*Please note that we may not be able to fit in everything listed in each package. We may run out of time for balloon twisting if there are over 10 children attending. If you have a preference of activities, please email us before your party and we will make this a priority.
– Catherine as host (over 18 years experience and having entertained in over 4000 parties) and character assistant dressed in spectacular costume for a 2 hour duration.
-Up to approximately 35 children.
-Use of our beautifully themed and decorated Enchanted Wood party venue room.
-Games galore: both unique and traditional party games.
-Dancing with a range of terrific music to suit any theme.
-Birthday gift for the birthday child with ceremony.
-Magical prizes for all the children attending.
-Bubble Game with thousands of bubbles filling the room.
-A very special puppet show.
-Professional face painting with top quality paints (there will be no scratchy itchy skin and the paints come off easily).
-Balloon twisted for each child to take home.
-Hardworking team on site to ensure everything runs perfectly, along with the owner Catherine coordinating your party.
-Beautiful invitations personalised for your child's party.
– Catherine as host (over 18 years experience and having entertained in over 4000 parties) and character assistant dressed in spectacular costume for a 1.5 hour duration.
-Fairyland keepsake treasure for the birthday child.
– Magical prizes for all the children attending.
– Catherine as host (over 18 years experience and having entertained in over 4000 parties) and character assistant dressed in spectacular costume for a 1 hour duration.
-Prizes for all the children attending.
Please contact us on 1300 992 456 to get a quote for any of the above party packages or simply fill out our quote form. For a quick reply please text us on 0411143841.
For food menus and prices please see our 'Children's Party Lunch' and 'Hosting Parents' pages.
It's very important that you also read through our FAQ's so you understand everything completely when booking with us.
Our professional kids party performers travel around Sydney spreading their unique magic with children and adults!
We are available for all special events and can customise a package to really suit your needs.
Please send us an enquiry via the contact page of this website with what you are looking for and we will get back to you with information and a quote. For a fast reply, please feel free to text us on 0411143841.
Parties are generally 1 hour, 1.5 hours or 2 hours in length and can have any number of entertainers depending on your budget and the size of your event. We will be able to guide you in the right direction when making this decision.
We suggest having our performer arrive at least 30 minutes into your party so that all your guests are there and settled. It is a good idea to serve any food for the children towards the end of our program when our entertainer will be face painting or balloon twisting (the final 30-45 minutes).
-Music system with array of great songs to really get the party going!


text:
TODAY AT 5: Poseidon-obsessed OCWD will try to ram $1 Billion desal project down our throats.
– June 6, 2018Posted in: "The OC", accountability, Brown Act, Cathy Green, Corruption, Debbie Cook, desalination, Fresh Juice, open government, Poseidon Desal, Waste, Water, waterboarding
Editor: Please show up to today's (Wednesday June 6) Orange County Water District meeting, 5pm at 18700 Ward Street in Fountain Valley, during which, no doubt hoping to fly under the radar the day after our historic primary election, the Board will quietly consider (and probably try to pass) a "revised term sheet" or pre-contract for the controversial $1 billion Poseidon desalination plant in Huntington Beach.
The following article, cross-posted from Surf City Voice, was written and published today by our friend John Earl, and originally entitled:
Spurious "Ad-Hoc" Committee pushes Billion-Dollar Desal Project.
California law says that the Orange County Water District, which manages the Orange County Groundwater Basin, belongs to the 2.4 million people who live in its service area.
But some of the District's 10 board members act like it's all theirs.
The Brown Act, which protects the people's right to check and address their local government agencies, would have them act otherwise.
"The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created."
Ralph M. Brown Act, California
Desalination Funding "Ad-hoc" Committee members, from top, left to right: Cathy Green, Shawn Dewane, Stephen Sheldon, Vincente Sarmiento, Denis Bilodeau, and de facto member, Scott Maloni (Poseidon Resources VP)
The Orange County Water District (OCWD) Board of Directors' (BOD)dream of building a $1 billion ocean desalination plant in Huntington Beach—without first considering alternatives—is out of control, and it could turn into a boondoggle for the ratepayers of the District's 19 member-agencies ("producers") who pump 75 percent of their water from the Orange County Groundwater Basin.
Thousands of documents, some marked confidential, obtained by the Surf City Voice under the California Public Records Act, reveal collusion in private and—to all appearances—illegal committee meetings held over the last 2½ years between five OCWD board members and CEOs from the developer, Poseidon Resources Inc., to create a contract between the two entities to build and run the proposed desalination plant.
The cover for those meetings was the so-called Desalination Funding ad hoc committee, which then board-president Cathy Green unilaterally created and appointed members to in July 2015.
Based on the committee's recommendation, the full board of directors will consider—and probably pass—a revised term sheet (pre-contract) for the Poseidon project at its June 6 meeting.
The likely passage of the term sheet will undoubtedly lead to more secretly held "ad hoc" committee meetings designed to push the Poseidon project toward a contract.
If that happens, Poseidon's water would cost OCWD ratepayers a minimum of $1.3 billion more over the next 30 years than for imported water they would otherwise have purchased from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, according to an analysis by project opponents (link).
Several points about the relationship between the OCWD and Poseidon stand out after an analysis of public documents and board actions taken over the past several years:
The Desalination Funding Ad hoc Committee functioned as a standing committee but without public meetings as required for standing committees; thus, it violated the Brown Act.
The goal of the Desalination Funding Ad hoc Committee is to negotiate a contract with Poseidon and complete the $1 billion project regardless of the alternatives.
The majority members of the OCWD BOD, five of whom sit on the Desalination Funding Ad hoc Committee, had no intention to seriously study alternatives to the Poseidon project, despite falsely telling a state permitting agency in October 2017 that it had already done so.
The Desalination Funding Ad hoc Committee and OCWD staff treat Poseidon Resources as an inseparable partner and exclude other project stakeholders with expert knowledge of ocean desalination, including producer representatives and prominent critics.
Poseidon Resources VP Scott Maloni (often with other Poseidon CEOs) participates so often in committee meetings that he is almost a de facto member. Maloni works closely with OCWD at all levels to promote the Poseidon project, even editing letters written by staff on behalf of the BOD to state permitting agencies.
About Committees Formed by Local Legislative Bodies
Under California law, elected decision-making bodies like city councils, school boards, and water districts can form committees to study and make recommendations back to those elected bodies about specific issues.
The legislative body must approve all standing and ad hoc committees in a formal action at a public meeting whether they will be subject to the Brown Act or not
The elected legislative body can't avoid the Brown Act's open-meeting requirements by calling a committee "ad hoc" when it actually functions as a standing committee.
"In short, an agency may not circumvent the requirements of the Brown Act simply by labeling a committee 'ad hoc' if it does not truly meet the definition," according to a training presentation recently made to city planning commissioners by the League of California Cities.
A permanent committee that meets to discuss administration and finance issues throughout the year (continuting subject matter jurisdiction) is a standing committee and is subject to the Brown Act, which requires them to hold public meetings.
Ad hoc is a Latin term that means "for this purpose only." Unlike standing committees, ad hoc committees do not have a "continuing subject matter jurisdiction."
Their term is not on-going or open-ended. They must have a specific purpose for a set time, after which they must disband. They are advisory only and report to the full elected body at the end of their term.
Ad hoc committees are not subject to the Brown Act. They may hold closed meetings without public notices, agendas, and minutes.
A temporary committee formed to come up with ideas for next year's Fourth of July parade is an ad hoc committee.
OCWD's Desalination Funding Ad hoc Committee
OCWD's Rules of Order spells out its policies on forming committees, but those rules aren't necessarily consistent with OCWD practice or the Brown Act:
The Desalination Funding Ad hoc Committee violated the Brown Act the moment Director Cathy Green created it by decree, not by an open-meeting vote of the board of directors as required, in 2015, as official minutes of the July 1, 2015, meeting of the Board of Directors show.
From official minutes for the OCWD BOD meeting July 1, 2015: Then OCWD BOD president Cathy Green forms the Desalination Funding ad hoc Committee without a formal action of the board required by the Brown Act. (General Manager Mike Markus gives a timeline for studying and reporting to the board about Poseidon project alternatives, but that report was never made and likely never will be. Director Sheldon falsely implies that OCWD staff are consistently studying water management projects listed in the OCWD's Long Term Facilities Plan as Poseidon alternatives).
Oddly, the Desalination Funding Ad hoc Committee was never put on the agenda for a vote of approval by the OCWD Board of Directors, as required by the Brown Act.
Instead, the board incorrectly assumed (based on Director Green's de facto proclamation in July 2015, alone) that the committee already existed when it approved its five members on January 6, 2016 (after three meetings of the committee had already been held in September, October, and November of 2015, respectively.) From the June 6 agenda:
From the June 6 minutes:
Financial disclosure forms filled in by OCWD staff and sent to the California Fair Political Practices Commission for the committee's five members estimated that—based on a stipend of $250 per meeting—they would receive $1,000 – $2,000 that year for up to eight committee meetings, hardly a sign that the committee was temporary.
In fact, expense reports for members of the Desalination Funding Ad hoc Committee show that 23 committee meetings were held between September 2015 and March 2018, an average of about nine meetings per year, with no end in sight; again, it clearly functions as an ongoing, not temporary, committee.
Expense and attendance records for members of the Orange County Water District Board of Directors Desal Funding Ad-hoc Committee:
Agency appointments (806 disclosure forms): Names of members of the Orange County Water District Board of Directors appointed to the "Desal Funding ad hoc Committee" and other OCWD committees. For each committee, there is an estimated yearly stipend for each director serving on that committee. The Desal Funding Ad hoc Committee is highlighted.
Expense purchasing card report. Lists all meetings attended and stipends paid during the stated time period:
Denis Bilodeau (current OCWD board president) – June 2015 thru May 2017;
Director Cathy Green – June 2015 thru March 2018;
Director Shawn Dewane – June 2015 thru March 2018;
Director Stephen Sheldon – June 2015 thru March 2018;
Reyna June – 2015 thru Dec 2016;
Director Vincente Sarmiento – January 2017 thru March 2018.
The OCWD BOD renews membership to the Desalination Funding Ad hoc Committee every two years, but it operates on an open-ended basis, as the directors' expense records show.
Although the committee's name suggests that looks specifically for "funding" for the project (i.e. grants or loans), its purpose was never defined by the board, which never officially approved the committee anyway.
Emails obtained under the Public Records Act show that the Desalination Funding Ad hoc Committee also has an ongoing subject matter jurisdiction that includes matters regularly deliberated on by the full board of directors. Thus, it functions as a standing committee subject to the Brown Act.
For example, an agenda (below) of discussion topics for Discussion Topics – December 9, 2015, shows the wide range of topics normally considered by the full board.
Not all the more than 20 Desal Ad hoc committee meetings had written agendas, but the wide range of topics related to the normal business of the full board of directors is clear from emails obtained from a public records search.
Another "confidential" email (below) shows that the committee will deal with "the concept of OCWD taking over the equity and/or debt financing for the project…"
Poseidon VP Scott Maloni and other Poseidon CEOs' heavy involvement in the Desal Funding Ad hoc Committee meetings, about half of them according to OCWD Chief Engineer John Kennedy, who administers the meetings, betrays the committee's Poseidon bias as well as another Brown Act violation.
Section 54952.7 of the Act states that "All meetings of the legislative body of a local agency shall be open and public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of the legislative body of a local agency, except as otherwise provided in this chapter."
Response to Critics
Debbie Cook, who has monitored the Poseidon project since she voted against it in 2005 while sitting on the Huntington Beach City Council, slams the Desalination Funding Ad hoc Committee as another example of the lack of transparency in how the OCWD Board of Directors conducts meetings.
"Nothing is more troubling about our water districts than their lack of transparency," she says.
"For years," she adds in reference to the committee, "the OCWD directors have excluded the public from meetings where they collude with Poseidon Resources about all aspects of this $1 billion project."
Cook says that calling the Desal committee ad hoc or advisory is a ruse.
"Numerous State Attorney General Opinions refute their assertion that the Desal Funding Committee is merely advisory and therefore exempt from public notice and participation," she says.
"An advisory committee forms to accomplish a specific task in a short period," Cook asserts, quoting from a written opinion by the State Attorney General's office.
"But the Desal Funding Committee has been given no such specificity," Cook points out. "Its members have been discussing every issue related to the Poseidon project, including distribution options, water quality issues, permitting, costs, and financing. "
OCWD Board of Directors president Denis Bilodeau disagrees. When confronted about the desalination committee on his way out of a recent board meeting, he said: "It is all perfectly legal."
Also read "Hidden Committee" for the perspective of OCWD Chief Engineer John Kennedy, who administers the Desalination Funding Ad-hoc Committee.
Note: Supporting documents will be added to this page on a daily basis. Check back daily.
Desalination Funding Ad hoc Committee
Discussion Topics – December 9, 2015
Call to discuss agenda ahead of time
OCWD legal powers as they relate to purchasing and selling Poseidon water. Discussed at ad hoc desal
Need ad hoc cover
Not as crazy as last meeting
RE Huntington Beach ad-hoc
Confidential Financial Model ad-hoc desal
Discussion of Poseidon equity rate for project
HB Desal Water Unit Pricing Model ad hoc committee discussion
Poseidon Financing Scenarios Confidential ad-hoc
Scheduling meeting for Poseidon's convenience but excluding the public
Tags: accountability, ad hoc committees, Brown Act, Cathy Green, Corruption, Desalination, OC Water District, ocwd, open government, Orange County Water District, Poseidon, transparency, Waste, Water
Pay to Play Posey the Poser
Posted June 7, 2018 at 8:37 PM
The same people who lost their minds over the "gas tax" and school bonds etc. do not seem to comprehend that this is essentially a tax. You're being told that you must pay a MINIMUM of 3 – 6 bucks a month for exactly what you get right now. Except for that low, low price you also get chemicals like boron added! It will kill your plants and possibly your internal organs.
The chemicals are so egregious that Irvine Ranch Water District is prepared to fight to keep the contaminated Poseidon water out of their supply. And have you seen IRWD? And how much they know about and have a passion for water supplies?
Also, the contract is for at least 35 years. So all those "patriots" are totally cool with being taxed for life essentially so a hedge fund can profit. Oh, and if your kids stay in the area you've just taxed them too. If they are born THIS year than you've taxed them Into middle age.
Why? NOT because WE NEED the water. We've got our aquifer and our groundwater waste system. But because Poseidon NEEDS THE MONEY. They will pay you back though! By ripping up your streets for years to come and polluting your ocean.
The only people who claim to look at the horrible Poseidon deal objectively and still support it like that adult costume wearing embarrassment Harper and worthless representative Posey TOOK MONEY FROM THEM. Or it's people who stand to gain like builders, real estate agents. And these "leaders" are all too short sighted to see the bigger gain financially for all by keeping our beach community and coastline beautiful and less industrialized.
Greedy, hypocritical, small thinking, self-serving weenies. And Cathy Green is Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter. A folksy, smarmy, sweater with a kitten embroidered on it kind of evil.


Competition: Could You Be Marie Claire's New Plus Size Columnist?
Could you be Marie Claire's new plus size columnist?
Hands up if you're a size 16 plus.
Hands up if you feel like your body type is under represented.
Hands up if you love your figure, rolls and wrinkles and curves and dimples and stretchmarks and all.
But hands up (again) if sometimes – sometimes – you feel like other people don't feel the same way.
Hands up if you have opinions – big, loud, shouty opinions – about what needs to change, and what needs to stay the same.
Hands up if you'd like a platform to share those opinions. If you'd like hundreds of thousands of women around the world to read them. And if you'd like to be paid for doing so.
And now put your hands back down onto your keyboard, and get typing. Because we're launching a brand new, never-been-done-before competition to find Marie Claire UK's new plus size columnist – as judged by model Tess Holliday. And we'd love you to enter.
Taking part is easy – you just need to write a 500 – 650 word column on a subject of your choice, email it over to us, and cross your fingers. You can be funny or serious, angry or chilled, happy or sad – we really don't mind. You don't need any writing experience. We just want to hear about what's important to you. Oh, and entrants must be size 16+, and based in the UK.
If you win, your column will be published in the magazine, and we'll want you to commit to writing at least five more for us over the next six months. You'll be paid the same standard rate as all of our freelance writers, get to participate in our social media channels and create some amazing video footage – and there'll probably be a photoshoot or two in there as well. Meanwhile, the four finalists will have their pieces published online too.
To enter, just email your finished column to corinne.redfern@timeinc.com by September 14th, with 'Marie Claire Curve' as the subject title along with details including your full name, age, dress size and location. Then just sit back and wait for Tess to make her decision.


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Quick Review - Housing Crisis - Kickstarter Preview
Designer: Ashley Yeates
Publisher: Rack & Pinion Games
Rack & Pinion Games, out of the UK, sent me an evaluation copy of Housing Crisis to review before their planned Kickstarter campaign. I'm not sure when the game's campaign is set to launch (the website says November, but it hasn't launched yet), but when it does launch and I have more info I'll update this review.
UPDATE: I heard back from the designer and the game will hopefully be launching on Kickstarter in the spring (February or March), and with some new updates to add some variety and depth to the game. I'll update my review (and likely post a new review) when I have more information on the updated game.
Housing Crisis is a quick, little, casual 2 player strategy game that is small enough to be portable and brief enough to get in several games in the span of just a few minutes. My sons (5 and 8) both enjoyed the game and it'll go in with our collection of small portable games that we take to play places when we have a few minutes to spare.
In Housing Crisis each player takes on the role of a real estate agent trying to place residents into vacant homes, apartments, and townhomes. The small game board is divided into several zones that are marked with numbers that indicate the optimum number of people that can live in that area. Each zone is divided into 1-4 spaces where people can reside. Each player has a set of 10 tokens that represent the people looking for homes. The tokens have numbers ranging from 1 to 5.
During the game each player takes turns placing one of the two tokens in his hand onto a space on the board and then drawing a token so his hand remains at 2 tokens (until the last turn when there are no more tokens). The strategy in the game comes from trying to decide where to place a token. Once a zone is filled up it is scored immediately. If the sum of the tokens in the zone is equal to the number in that zone (e.g. a zone marked with 8 has 4, 3, and 1 tokens on its 3 spaces) the player who placed the last token gets all the points for filling that zone (8 in this case). If the player has a monopoly in that zone, i.e. all the tokens are the same color, he scores a bonus 2 points. If the zone is under-populated the scoring depends on if there is a monopoly in the zone (the player gets points equal to the sum of the tokens) or not (the player loses points equal to how under-populated the zone is). If the zone is over-populated the player loses points equal to the over-population count. At the end of the game the player with the most points wins.
The game employs a very simple and basic mechanic for scoring points. There is a bit of thinking involved to try to determine the best place and time to play certain tokens, but a lot is left up to chance, too. You might have a 2 and 1 in your hand so you place the 2 in a space for a zone needing 6 people, hoping your opponent doesn't have a 4 and hoping that you'll draw a 4. The luck is greater at the beginning of the game since it's less apparent what each player might have in his hand, but that can be mitigated somewhat by playing tokens earlier in the game in the larger zones that require 3 or 4 tokens to fill or by playing tokens in the 1 space mansions. As the game progresses players are able to more easily deduce what tokens remain in both their draw piles and their opponents' draw piles. Unfortunately by this point in the game there are few options of where tokens can be placed, so even though it's easier to figure out what numbers are going to come into play, playing the tokens you have comes down to deciding what will hurt your point total less, unless you are lucky enough to have the right tokens at the right time.
I enjoyed playing Housing Crisis the first few times I played; however, after playing it a number of times I've realized that, while the strategy is simple and fun, there's very little depth to the game. The tile drawing results in a pretty random strategy that doesn't always require a whole lot of thought. The first two times I played it was somewhat interesting, but the end game felt a bit futile, especially for the last person to play since it's known what each player has left. It usually turns into a matter of just deciding how to best mitigate your losses, unless you are fortunate enough to have just the right tiles at just the right time.
I played with a friend first and later with my wife and then helped my sons play against my wife. Every time the game was fairly anticlimactic. We really wanted more player interaction and depth to the strategy than just placing numbers on the board. The game really needs something more than just playing the tiles in your hand. Maybe more tiles than spaces on the board, or some way to move another player's tokens or something to mitigate the luck factor, add a bit more uncertainty to what your opponent has and is able to play, and add a way to affect your opponent's game a bit more.
It's really nice that the game is so small. It's small enough to take almost anywhere. The board is nice that it is small enough to slip into a purse, book or kindle/tablet case, however it's just a little too big to just slip into a pocket easily. The game reminded us of Coin Age, however it lacked the depth of choices, decision making, and ability to affect your opponent that Coin Age has. The games played quickly, just 5 minutes or so per game, so you can get a few rounds finished in a few minutes, perfect to play while waiting for food at a restaurant or something, and that helps mitigate the need for a ton of strategic depth, but it still felt like it lacked something. I also wish there was a better way to keep score than a pen and paper since that adds an additional component that you need to have with you. That's minor, but still a concern.
While Housing Crisis is portable, simple, quick, and fun, I also carry Coin Age in my wallet and would pull that out first in most situations, particularly with adults or more strategic minded people. Housing Crisis will probably get some additional play, but probably mostly with my sons and not with adult gamers. I feel that the game's simple strategy lends itself to a kids' game. It'll teach basic strategic thinking, token counting, bluffing, and deduction skills, so it's better than a commercial kids' game (e.g. Trouble, Candyland, etc.) but the depth of strategy is only a bit more than something like Checkers. The whole real estate agent theme works for the game, however it's not very entertaining for kids. I think if the game could be rethemed to a more kid-friendly subject it might be more engaging for them. With a better theme the game could be a great introduction for kids to more strategic games and could be a great gateway to deeper strategy and area control games. As it is it falls short on depth for gamers and lacks a good theme for kids. Maybe as a quick gateway game for adults that don't usually play games, but even in that regard there are better gateway games, although few as portable or quick to play.
I'll keep this review updated as more information on the game becomes available. The components I received are prototype components, so there's always the possibility of changes in the theme or rules that could affect my opinion of the game.
This review is of a prototype game. Components and rules are not final and are subject to change.
About halfway through a game of Housing Crisis.
Only a couple of spaces left so there's not much to decide here.
A finished game. It's important to keep track of score as you
play because it'll be impossible to tally scores at the end since
you don't know who placed tokens when.
Tags: #BoardGameReviews, 5/10, first play impressions, Housing Crisis, Kickstarter, Micro Game, Preview, Quick Review, Rack & Pinion Games, review, strategy, Strategy Game
Settlers of Catan - 2-Player Variants
GJJ Guest Video Review on Edo's Reviews! - Rise! b...


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"Shocking and concerning:" Staff member allegedly wore blackface to Toronto high school
Zoe Demarco
A staff member at a Toronto high school has been placed on home assignment after he allegedly wore blackface to school as a Halloween costume.
The incident is said to have occurred Friday morning at Parkdale Collegiate Institute, near Queen Street West and Lansdowne Avenue.
In a letter obtained by Daily Hive, Principal Julie Ardell told the school community that a "number of students" alerted the Vice Principal that a white staff member was in blackface.
Ardell said the school took immediate steps to address the incident, including having the staff member wash their face so as to "not cause further harm."
A report has been filed with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and the staff member has been put on home assignment pending the outcome of an investigation.
"Caricatures of peoples' race or culture are not appropriate and are offensive and hurtful. Regardless of whether this was intended or not, it was racist and dehumanizing," she said.
"On behalf of Parkdale CI, I acknowledge and regret the harm this incident has caused to students, staff, and families and our shared school climate."
78% of Black Canadians consider racism in Canada a severe problem
Ontario reports under 350 new COVID-19 cases, three deaths
TDSB to begin collecting student vaccination status
In the wake of the incident, a petition has been launched demanding that the TDSB address racism and discrimination in its classrooms.
According to the petition, the staff member who wore blackface is a grade nine teacher. When asked what he was dressed up as, he told students that he "didn't have an idea for his Halloween costume, so he decided to paint his face black."
Launched by "concerned parents and neighbours," the petition lists several recommendations the TDSB should adopt in order to "ensure safety" in its classrooms, including a zero-tolerance policy for hate and racial discrimination.
"This is not a one-time incident," the petition reads. "As parents, many of us have witnessed overt and micro racial aggressions toward our children. This incident, however, is severe, shocking, and concerning."
"The system needs an overhaul and eliminating racism and discriminations in our classrooms must be first priority throughout the TDSB."
Daily Hive has contacted Parkdale Collegiate Institute and will update this story accordingly.
Zoe Demarco+ FOLLOW


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Turkish PM criticises U.S. bill to block sale of F-35 jets
The U.S. Senate's decision to pass a bill prohibiting the sale of Lockheed Martin's F-35 jets to Turkey is unfortunate and against the spirit of strategic partnership, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday.
The U.S. Senate passed a $716 billion defence policy bill on Monday, backing President Donald Trump's call for a bigger, stronger military, which includes an amendment prohibiting sales of the jets to Turkey.
Yildirim was also quoted by broadcaster Haberturk as saying that Turkey was not without alternatives and that the bill would not make Turkey vulnerable.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 85-10 for the annual National Defense Authorisation Act, or NDAA, which authorises U.S. military spending but is generally used as a vehicle for a broad range of policy matters.
Before it can become law, the bill must be reconciled with one already passed by the House of Representatives. That compromise measure must then be passed by both chambers and signed into law by Trump.
Considered must-pass legislation, the fiscal 2019 Senate version of the NDAA authorizes $639 billion in base defence spending, for such things as buying weapons, ships and aircraft and paying the troops, with an additional $69 billion to fund ongoing conflicts.
This year, the Senate included an amendment that would kill the Trump administration's agreement to allow ZTE to resume business with U.S. suppliers, one of the few times the Republican-led Senate has veered from White House policy. That ZTE provision is not included in the House version of the NDAA.
While strongly supported by some of Trump's fellow Republicans as well as some Democrats, the measure is opposed by the White House and some of its close Republican allies, who control the House as well as the Senate.
It could face a difficult path to being included in the final NDAA, especially if Trump lobbies the Republican-led Congress against it, as he is expected to do.
Republicans and Democrats have expressed national security concerns about ZTE after it broke an agreement to discipline executives who had conspired to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran and North Korea.
The U.S. government placed a ban on ZTE earlier this year, but the Trump administration reached an agreement to lift the ban while it is negotiating broader trade agreements with China and looking to Beijing for support during negotiations to halt North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.
Republicans Tom Cotton and Marco Rubio and Democrats Chuck Schumer and Chris Van Hollen, who led the Senate push for the ZTE provision, said in a joint statement after the vote that they were "heartened" by support, adding: "It is vital that our colleagues in the House keep this bipartisan provision in the bill as it heads towards a conference."
But the final NDAA could include only a much less stringent provision, included in the House bill, that would bar the Defence Department from dealing with any entity using telecommunications equipment or services from ZTE or another Chinese company, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.
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Q: SDL: Render Texture on top of another texture i am having trouble with the following:
I need to render a texture on top of another texture and then render that main texture.
For example I have the blue rectangle texture, and I want to draw red rectangles on top of this blue rect. However i want them to restrict the render only on this rectangle. Like the following image:

I read something about texture blit between them or something like that but im not sure if this is posible.
My code looks like this:
SDL_RenderCopy(ren,bluetexture,NULL,dBLUErect);
SDL_RenderCopy(ren,redtexture,NULL,dREDrect);
SDL_RenderPresent(ren);

Any one knows about how to do this in SDL 2.0? thats what Im using by the way.

A: First, you need to create your texture on which you want to draw with SDL_TEXTUREACCESS_TARGET flag. So create back texture like this:
back = SDL_CreateTexture(renderer, SDL_PIXELFORMAT_ARGB8888, SDL_TEXTUREACCESS_TARGET, 50, 50);

Then, when calling drawing functions, you need to set the back texture as the target, like so:
SDL_SetRenderTarget(renderer, back);

Then you draw what you want, and after that you change the target to null:
SDL_SetRenderTarget(renderer, NULL);

And render back texture:
SDL_RenderCopy(renderer, back, NULL, &some_rect);

A: Mars answer  didnt work because it drew a black texture and nothing could be drawn on that.
But THIS WORKS!:
SDL_Texture* auxtexture = SDL_CreateTexture(ren, SDL_PIXELFORMAT_RGBA8888, SDL_TEXTUREACCESS_TARGET, 500, 500);

//change the rendering target

SDL_SetTextureBlendMode(auxtexture, SDL_BLENDMODE_BLEND);
SDL_SetRenderTarget(ren, auxtexture);

//render what we want
triangle->render(ren); //render my class triangle e.g

//change the target back to the default and then render the aux

SDL_SetRenderTarget(ren, NULL); //NULL SETS TO DEFAULT
SDL_RenderCopy(ren, auxtexture, NULL, canvas->drect);
SDL_DestroyTexture(auxtexture);

Cheers.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


"Sherwood" is a beautiful short pile 12 inch mohair bear .
He's been dressed in a hand knitted pair of cotton shorts and a multi Autumnal coloued jacket with look like leather buttons.
This bear is very handsome.


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