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Post Expertise / Events
Underground Rappers Of Mumbai
Nitin Srivastava | September 1st, 2019 . 11:19 am
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The hip-hop music is taking its time in India now, as the audience is now praising talent instead of videos of artists with fake expensive cars, alcohol, money and garnished with some nudity. Below is my opinion about current rappers of Mumbai. I will be talking about life and struggle of top four rappers according to me.
We can say that hip-hop music in India is evolving right now, as the audience has developed a good sense of rap music and few hard-working rappers have a huge fan following right now. But initially, hip-hop music and rappers were not given the appreciation they deserve. Making a rap video was not everyone's cup of tea as it required a lot of money ( it was a must to include cars, girls, alcohol, etc. otherwise it was hard to grab the attention of crowd). Even at the beginning of 2019, the audience was not familiar with Indian rap music. But the audience like controversies, the musical battle between two rappers ( "raftaar" and "emiway") attracted a lot of audiences and the diss tracks released by both of the rappers got a huge success. This controversy paved the way for hip-hop music and the rest of the work was done by the movie "Gullyboy"(based on the life of rapper named "Divine" and "Naezy") which was a great hit. The album of that movie gave Indian hip-hop music, global recognition and it gained audiences not just in India, but also in other countries.
So that's how rap music developed its roots in India and hope that there will only be going forward from here. I will be discussing some famous and growing rappers and their lives. I am also an amateur rapper, learning from all those I am going to mention here.
Naezy
In my opinion, Naezy is the best rapper in India right now. Naezy's actual name is Naved Shaikh. He laid the foundation of rapping in Mumbai and all the other rappers of the gully were motivated by him. He paved the way of hip-hop music in Mumbai in early 2014 with his song named "aafat". This was a breakthrough in the Indian rap industry. Interesting thing was that there were no proper resources available to him and he recorded his initial songs on an iPad. His family background was not strong enough as his father did a job in Dubai and his mother was a housewife. He was doing B.Sc after 12th and found a friend Nikhil aka Ncube. He started rapping with him and his friends created a group called "Schizophrenics". His initial songs were very low on budget but full of talent, flow, and excellent rhymings, but still, he was not able to attract the audience and fame he deserves. After the gully boy movie, people started listening to his songs when they came to know about him and realized that he is the actual leader of Indian hip-hop. Some of his songs are:–
(1) Aafat (2) Raaste kathin (3) Aafat wapas (4) Tehelka Etc.
Divine's actual name is Vivian Fernandes. His family lived in Mumbai slums. He was fond of listening to hip-hop artists like Eminem, Nas, etc. and developed attraction towards rap. Initially, he was not into much writing rap until he found his mentor and friend "Naezy". But his family was totally against rapping and forced him towards studies and having a job. Naezy helped him in releasing his first music video "Yeh Mera Bombay". After this, he never looked back and now he owns a music label known as "Gully Gang" which brings up talented young rappers. He is ensuring the future of Indian hip-hop music and providing the stage to young talents. He is famous among people for his unique flow and lyrics. His hard work fetched him a signing from sony music. In my opinion, he is setting a legacy and thus gaining respect as well. In the list of Indian underground rappers, Divine stands in second place. Some of his famous songs are:-
(1) Jungli Sher (2) Farak (3) Teesri Manzil (4) One Side
Divine recently organized a hip-hop festival named "Gully Fest" in which, talented rappers were given a stage and crowd to grab the attention of people towards them. Some rappers were Dee mc, D'evil, 7 bantai, Kaam Bhari, MC Altaaf. The first video of his music label was a cypher starring Frennzy, Sledge, Sammohit, Saifan, D'evil and Shah Rule.
Emiway is the result of a diss track battle between "Raftaar" and "Emiway". But this sentence is truly false to judge his talent. Emiway's actual name is Bilal Shaikh and he came to Mumbai after dropping studies and joined underground rappers. Raftaar was already famous at that time and as he claims in his diss tracks, he helped Emiway to grow and even wrote lyrics for him. When Emiway was in school, his friends made him listen to the legend " Eminem's" song "I am not afraid". This song influenced him greatly and then he learned the lyrics of that song, performed in front of his classmates. He got huge appreciation from the class and this motivated him towards writing his songs. Initially, his songs were in English but his father suggested him to rap in Hindi. When he started rapping in Hindi, people accepted his songs and he started gaining some fame in the school. He also appeared in "India's Got Talent" but got eliminated. His song "Aur Bantai" performed well and proved a turning point in his life and gained him fame and the audience. From there, he has only moved forward. He brings a new song every month and gets millions of views in a single day. In my opinion, Emiway has created his path and therefore calls himself an independent artist. He stands third in my list of Indian underground rappers of India. Some of his famous songs are:-
(1) Freeverse feast (Dawat) (2) Machayenge (3) Khatam (4) Samajh me aaya kya?
Dino James
Dino James does not have any relation with underground rappers or any mentor. He was initially an actor working in TV serials getting small roles. But then everything changed and he went through a breakup. When he was sitting a beach one day, a singer with guitar met him and he told Dino about scales and other elements of music. After then, he started writing his songs and practiced rapping. He wrote a song on his girlfriend which went viral and made him famous as it was full of abuses and controversies. But after getting famous, he didn't make songs only full of abuses. He relied on his talent and dropped some inspirational songs with simple but effective rhymings. His songs are famous for the feelings he puts into his songs. Even I cried after listening to his song "Yaadein". Overall, Dino James is a simple but talented rapper, making his way in this boom for rap music in India. In my list of underground rappers, Dino James stands in fourth place. Some of his famous songs are:–
(1) Girlfriend (2) Yaadein (3) Hancock (4) Unstoppable
So this was my opinion on underground rappers. But not just them, many talents out there are preparing their songs and are future of the Indian Hip-Hop industry. We can say that in this digital era, talent cannot stay hidden. The future is bright in Hip-Hop. Kudos.
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Home / Products / Swaziland Sisal "Titja" Basket, 12"
Swaziland Sisal "Titja" Basket, 12"
The Masterweave Collection baskets represent the pinnacle of basket weaving. These Swazi baskets are the highest quality baskets woven in Swaziland, and among the highest quality woven in the world. Each basket is peer reviewed and priced according to 11 different criteria of weave quality.
This highly collectible basket was handmade from Sisal fibers gathered from the sisal plant (a weed). The sisal plant is in the Agave family and its fibers are so known for strength that it is increasingly being used as an environmentally friendly strengthening agent to replace harmful substances in industrial production processes.
Each fiber is harvested, dried, hand dyed, dried again, then rolled against the weaver's leg until the perfect thread is drawn out. An average of 80 hours per 12-inch diameter basket makes these one of the most labor intensive of all African baskets for their size.
As a bowl gets larger, it takes more and more time to weave because the coils on each row become much longer as the bowl flares upwards and outwards. So adding one row at the top of the basket, could be equivalent to weaving 5-7 rows or more in the base of the basket. This is the reason the larger baskets are more unusual, take so much more time to create and are only done by Masterweavers.
These baskets are traditionally given as gifts and symbolize long and happy life.


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The US: An 'Empire in Retreat'
In his new book, Victor Bulmer-Thomas argues that the US needs to accept its imperial decline and reinvent itself
By Paul Hockenos | 06.05.2019
Can the US accept its imperial decline?
The United States has long shied from naming itself an empire, even though it has been one – in practice quite explicitly – since its founding. This is no excuse for serious scholars and other observers to have trodden so warily around the category for so long. Today, with the US empire in slow-motion fade-out, this is no longer the case, and Bulmer-Thomas's Empire in Retreat is one of several fresh and worthy books examining the phenomenon.
In a dispassionate, finely grained analysis, the British historian dissects more than 200 years of US history, illustrating that though the term 'empire' was only sporadically employed, the US has consistently behaved like an empire and justified its extraterritorial affairs with ideas and rationale very similar to those of other empires.
From early on, the US imperial project was justified by a sense of American exceptionalism, moral superiority and righteous destiny that persisted into the 21st century in the foreign policies of presidents of both parties, including those of Barack Obama. Behind it lay commercial advantage for the US, in particular its elites. Though he embraces American exceptionalism, Donald Trump is the first president, ever, not to conclude that this implies pro-active meddling in every corner of the world.
Classic territorial expansion
Bulmer-Thomas divides the history of American empire into three stages. The first is a classic imperialism of territorial expansion, which entailed the conquering of the western territories that became most of the 50 states of the union, and lasted, roughly, until the 20th century. The Founding Fathers drove this stage of empire-building from the start, almost all of them having economic interests in land to the west. Although the explicit use of the term Manifest Destiny – an ideological, racist and quasi-religious doctrine that underpinned a US claim to all lands in North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific – didn't enter the American vocabulary until later, it was there in various spectres from day one.
While the duping, expulsion and murder of the Native Americans is not a secret, Bulmer-Thomas's detached description of the cruel, lethal process is sobering. It wasn't one genocide but many, and proceeded with few qualms and little reflection. The principal architect was Andrew Jackson, president from 1829 to 1837, who ethnically cleansed about 100 million acres of Indian land up to the Mississippi.
At the century's turn, there had been talk in the highest circles about Native American autonomy or even the statehood of Indian nations. It was conceivable and doable. The idea was to 'civilize the Indians', not exterminate them – the former preferable if one has to choose. But Jackson crushed any thought of Indian nationhood and the native Americans themselves, too. (New to me: it was the deep racism of the southern, slave-owning states that rejected living side by side with Indians, as well as, later, of offering statehood to Haiti and Santi Domingo, today's Dominican Republic.)
The US, he argues, can live on post-empire in the form of a perfectly functional nation-state, one among many in the world, if it plays its cards right.
Although territorial expansion marked this first phase of empire, the creation of client states, colony-like protectorates, and spheres of influence picked up as the frontier was closing. The Monroe Doctrine (1832) and the 1904 Roosevelt Corollary asserted America's right to hegemony in the Western hemisphere and thus laid the groundwork for US expansionist and interventionist practices beyond the continental US in the decades to come. In the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as Africa, Asia and Europe, the US intervened militarily, economically and politically to secure positions of privilege that opened up export markets.
A semi-global empire
The US's global geopolitics through most of the 20th century resulted in what Bulmer-Thomas calls a 'semi-global' empire. Though interventions and puppet regimes did some of this work, the US used self-constructed institutions as well as other non-state actors and multinationals to extend its influence. There is no better example than postwar western Europe, which gladly signed up to the American-made Bretton Woods system of global institutions that ensured the prosperity of US export industries. In exchange, Europe received access to commodities, security, aid and democracy – all on US terms.
The third phase began with a burst of self-confidence when Soviet communism fell and the US experienced a short-lived 'unipolar moment', when it was the lone global superpower. This didn't last for long, though, as the US empire was already in retreat – it just didn't know it. The rise of China, the resurgence of Russia, the shrinking of US markets, the botched post-9/11 wars, and the election of Trump were all nails in the coffin.
The draw back is well under way, argues Bulmer-Thomas, but this doesn't mean the US will suffer the fate of Rome and the Ottomans, at least not right away. 'When it reaches its 250th anniversary in the 2030s, [its empire] will still be in operation,' he writes, but 'a pale shadow of its former self.'
An illusion of autonomy
The US, he argues, can live on post-empire in the form of a perfectly functional nation-state, one among many in the world, if it plays its cards right. This means accepting its imperial decline instead of fighting it with more futile escapades such as those in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.
Its allies in the imperial project, such as the Europeans, will have to redefine themselves too, which might be an even tougher task than the US's. (It is certainly a dud at the moment.) The institutions that the US created for Europe no longer function, and US security pledges are no longer reliable. Russia alone has struck out for itself. The illusion of Europe's autonomy is now clear for all to see and, ironically, most European elites pine for the comfort of the US-led imperial order.
Through the lens of the US as empire, the world looks quite different, including the Trump era. Empire in Retreat is a read for those who dare to question how they've long viewed the US, and what's going to happen as it sheds the skin of its imperial self.
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Paul Hockenos is a Berlin-based author and political analyst. Among others, he has written for The New York Times, Newsweek, and Foreign Affairs. He is the Europe Correspondent for the Chronicle of Higher Education and authored several books on European politics.
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Photo Emma Mitchell 21.3.16'St Ninian's High School, Bill Reside with his award for working with young people.
A local hero who rescued a cyclist after she plunged into a canal has been honoured for his work with young people.
Kirkintilloch man Bill Reside won the National Partnership Award at the Youth Worker of the Year 2016 in Glasgow recently.
Bill, a youth development worker at East Dunbartonshire Council, picked up the title for his role at St Ninian's High School, working with the school to support pupils.
Speaking about his award, Bill Reside said he was quite overwhelmed at the accolade.
He said: "I am very proud to have won this award. I get to work with great people and wonderful young people.
Minister for Children & Young People Aileen Campbell MSP said: "I'm delighted to have been invited to join so many inspiring individuals at the Awards.
"The awards celebrate and promote the immense value of Scotland's youth work sector to our young people and our wider communities.
"Youth work not only builds the self-esteem and confidence of young people for future opportunities, it also helps to prepare them for the world of work – providing opportunities for awards and life experiences they may not achieve otherwise.
Bill made the headlines in the Herald back in September last year when he risked his life to save a woman from drowning after she careered into the canal on her bike.
The 54-year-old dived in to the water near the bridge at Townhead, Kirkintilloch and pulled the woman to safety.


It is the crown of justice, and the glory, where it may kill with right, to save with pity.
Our task must be to free ourselves . . . by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.
Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that man is here for the sake of other men.
Want o� compassion (however inaccurate observers have reported to the contrary) is not to be numbered among the general faults of mankind. The black ingredient which fouls our disposition is envy. Hence our eyes, it is to be feared, are seldom turned up to those who are manifestly greater, better, wiser, or happier than ourselves, without some degree of malignity, we commonly look downward on the mean and miserable with sufficient benevolence and pity.
Compassion for the friend should conceal itself under a hard shell.
Compassion, the fairest associate of the heart.
Difficult as it is really to listen to someone in affliction, it is just as difficult for him to know that compassion is listening to him.


The highlighted teams marked with 'E' qualified for the 2019 High School National Championship Tournament.
The highlighted team marked with 'F' qualified for the 2019 Small School National Championship Tournament (Open Division).
The highlighted team marked with 'G' qualified for the 2019 High School National Championship Tournament.
The highlighted teams marked with 'H' qualified for the 2019 Small School National Championship Tournament (Open Division).


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Q: Is this $f(x)$ answer correct in regards to functions? $f(x) = 2x+4$ for $x=5 $
$f(5) = 2 × 5 + 4 = 14$
Our answer is: $f(5) = 14$
Why is our answer $14$? Because we had everything? $5 \times 2$ is $10$, plus $4$ is $14$. Correct reasoning for the answer: $f(5) = 14$?

A: Yes, that's correct and your reasoning is fine. You might want to include the word "substitution": given the input $x = 5$, we substitute $5$ for $x$ in $f(x) = 2x+4$  to yield the function value at $x=5\;$:  $f(5) = 2(5) + 4 = 14$.

A: Your answer is correct. If $f(x)=2x+4$, then $f(5)=2(5)+4=14$.

A: Yes, the notation $f(x) = \ldots$ means if you want to compute $f(x)$ for any value $x$, plug it into the right-hand side. So if
$$f(x) = 2x+4$$
then
$$f(5) = 2 (5) + 4 = 14$$
as you wrote.

A: You are correct. Every single point on the graph of a function $f(x)$ must have coordinates in the form $(x, \ f(x))$. Think of $f(x)$ like a machine, where $f$ is the actual machine, and $x$ is what you input. The "machine" is telling you: "If you input any $x$ into me, I will spit out $2x+4$!" So what if we input a value of $x=5$ into the machine? Remember  it will give us a value of $2\cdot x+4$. Because $x=5$, our machine gives us $2\times 5+4$, which equals $14$. We write this as $f(5)=14$.
Remember what I said about every point having the coordinates $(x$, $f(x))$? We now know that one of the points on the graph is $(5, \ f(5))$, which is equal to $(5, \ 14)$. Graph the function $f(x)=2x+4$, and see if $(5, \ 14)$ is on the graph. Amazing, right? Haha hope I helped!!!

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Q: Sum of reciprocals of generalized polygonal numbers Let us consider the series of the sum of reciprocals of generalized pentagonal numbers $$\sum_{-\infty}^{\infty}\left(\frac{2}{3n^{2}-n}\right)=1+\frac{1}{2}+\frac{1}{5}+\frac{1}{7}+\frac{1}{12}+\frac{1}{15}+\frac{1}{22}+\frac{1}{26}+...$$
It seems that the series is convergent, but is it known to which number?
I reasoned the following:
Let it be the sum of reciprocals of triangular numbers $$\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{T_{n}}=1+\frac{1}{3}+\frac{1}{6}+\frac{1}{10}+\frac{1}{15}+\frac{1}{21}+...=2$$
Already Euler noted that, if we multiply each term by 3, we obtain $$3+1+\frac{1}{2}+\frac{3}{10}+\frac{1}{5}+\frac{1}{7}+\frac{3}{28}+\frac{1}{12}+\frac{1}{15}+\frac{3}{55}+\frac{1}{22}+\frac{1}{26}+\frac{3}{91}+...=6$$
Reordering conveniently, we have that $$\left(1+\frac{1}{2}+\frac{1}{5}+\frac{1}{7}+\frac{1}{12}+\frac{1}{15}+...\right)+...\left(\frac{3}{10}+\frac{3}{28}+\frac{3}{55}+\frac{3}{91}+...\right)+3=6$$
It could be noted that $$1+\frac{1}{2}+\frac{1}{5}+\frac{1}{7}+\frac{1}{12}+\frac{1}{15}+...=\sum_{-\infty}^{\infty}\left(\frac{2}{3n^{2}-n}\right)$$
And also that $$\frac{3}{10}+\frac{3}{28}+\frac{3}{55}+\frac{3}{91}+...=3\left(\sum_{-\infty}^{\infty}\left(\frac{1}{9n^{2}+9n}\right)-1\right)$$
This last formula is the formula of centered nonagonal numbers.
The general formula for the sum of reciprocals of centered k-gonal numbers is $$S_k=\frac{2\pi}{k\sqrt{1-\frac{8}{k}}}\tan\left(\frac{\pi}{2}\sqrt{1-\frac{8}{k}}\right)$$
Therefore, $$3\left(\sum_{-\infty}^{\infty}\left(\frac{1}{9n^{2}+9n}\right)-1\right)=3\left(\left(\frac{2\pi}{9\sqrt{1-\frac{8}{9}}}\tan\left(\frac{\pi}{2}\sqrt{1-\frac{8}{9}}\right)\right)-1\right)$$
Operating, we get that $$3\left(\sum_{-\infty}^{\infty}\left(\frac{1}{9n^{2}+9n}\right)-1\right)=2\pi\left(\sqrt{\frac{1}{3}}\right)-3$$
Therefore, $$\sum_{-\infty}^{\infty}\left(\frac{2}{3n^{2}-n}\right)+\left(2\pi\left(\sqrt{\frac{1}{3}}\right)-3\right)+3=6$$
Subsequently, $$\sum_{-\infty}^{\infty}\left(\frac{2}{3n^{2}-n}\right)=6-3-\left(2\pi\left(\sqrt{\frac{1}{3}}\right)-3\right)$$
$$\sum_{-\infty}^{\infty}\left(\frac{2}{3n^{2}-n}\right)=6-2\pi\left(\sqrt{\frac{1}{3}}\right)$$
$$\sum_{-\infty}^{\infty}\left(\frac{2}{3n^{2}-n}\right)\approx 2,372$$
Is this reasoning and result correct?
I have checked the literature and found general formulas for sums of k-gonal numbers and centered k-gonal numbers, but not for generalized k-gonal numbers. Are there any general formulas for generalized k-gonal numbers?
Thanks in advance!


A small sheltered harbor and mooring for boats. Houses on the hillside overlooking the bay, and lights at dusk.
September 18, 2018: View at dusk from the Fischerinsel towards Alexanderplatz in Berlin, Germany.


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Home Technology Whatsapp New Feature Hides Last Seen Status From Certain Contacts
WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app in the world with over 1 billion monthly active users, has just announced it will be working on an update to its iOS and Android apps that will add a new feature that lets you hide your Last Seen status from certain contacts.
Last Seen status lets people know if you've seen their messages or not, and WhatsApp's vision for this new feature is pretty clear: hide your Last Seen status from someone if you don't want them to know when you've seen their messages.
WhatsApp to Hide Last Seen
However, one element is always visible to everyone: when was the last time you used WhatsApp? Using what's called 'Last Seen' is still useful to some people – they might want to know if someone saw their message or responded, even if that response was silence.
But for many others, it just serves as an unwanted reminder of who's reached out and hasn't heard back yet. It seems WhatsApp agrees with that sentiment because it looks like it's finally taking steps to help us forget about Last Seen entirely.
The latest beta version of WhatsApp (2.17.399) lets users hide their Last Seen status from all contacts except those in their Favorites group. To enable it, go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Last Seen and select Hide Last Seen at the bottom of your screen.
In addition to letting you hide your Last Seen status, WhatsApp 2.17.399 also adds support for WhatsApp Web links and fixes issues related to voice messages not being heard by recipients.
WhatsApp Web links are pretty self-explanatory – they're URLs that can be shared via messages or chats so friends can open them up directly in their browser instead of having to download WhatsApp themselves.
New Feature Gives the Option to Hide From Certain Contacts
WhatsApp has several status features that help your contacts keep track of how often you use the app, but one, in particular, can sometimes be a source of embarrassment:
Last Seen. The timestamp lets other users know when you were last active and for some, it has become an unwanted source of social pressure. Thankfully, it looks like WhatsApp is planning to give users an option to hide their Last Seen statuses for specific contacts and only share it with people they trust.
WhatsApp's about page reveals details about each update, so you can see what changes are coming down the pipeline. This week's post highlights an upcoming change to WhatsApp's status feature:
When using WhatsApp Status, we'll soon be able to tap into your phone's do not disturb mode so that your privacy is respected by those who may not have heard about DND or do not care about respecting it.
DND mode allows users to stop all notifications until they turn off DND mode or manually disable individual apps. However, if WhatsApp is going to make good on its promise of letting us hide our Last Seen statuses from certain contacts then there must be more than just turning off DND mode involved here.
WhatsApp Beta Update Allows You to Pick Contact
WhatsApp has pushed out a beta update for both Android and iOS, allowing users to pick which contacts can see their last seen. As spotted by WABetaInfo, users can now select last seen visibility in WhatsApp settings.
When activated, only those you choose to whitelist will be able to see your last seen status – without it being shown to everyone. You'll find options on Android under Settings > Account > Privacy > Last Seen and on iOS under Settings > Account > Privacy.
WhatsApp is testing an option that allows users to hide their last seen status from specific contacts in private chats. The company first rolled out support for hiding last seen back in 2016, but it was limited to group chats at first.
Now WhatsApp is testing an option that allows users to hide their last seen status from specific contacts in private chats as well. A Reddit user recently discovered a new setting within WhatsApp that lets you toggle whether or not your contact sees when you were last active.
WhatsApp's latest beta release includes a couple of notable changes. First up, WhatsApp is working on adding a new Last Seen privacy feature that would allow users to hide their online status from some of their contacts.
In addition, WhatsApp could also be working on adding more granular controls over who can send you messages while Do Not Disturb mode is enabled (via PiunikaWeb). Last month we reported that WhatsApp might soon let its users control who they want to talk with while they are in Do Not Disturb mode.
Last Seen Status Disappears from Conversation Screen
WhatsApp is testing a new feature that will hide your Last Seen Status from certain contacts so you no longer have to worry about pesky people asking when you were last online. The option appears under Settings > Account and privacy > Account settings, where users can toggle on a setting titled Last seen hidden and select who can see their online status.
There are three options: everyone, only contacts, or no one. If enabled, your last seen disappears from conversation screens and profiles, making it easy to privately log off when you need some peace.
Unfortunately, if someone manages to take a screenshot of your WhatsApp profile then they can still tell if you're online or not even with the setting disabled. In addition to hiding your Last Seen status, WhatsApp is also adding support for Voice Calling for Android beta users. Users can access calling by tapping and holding on any chat and selecting Call.
Status Indicator Disappears from Group Chat Panel
WhatsApp has several status features that help your contacts keep track of how often you use them. One such Status Indicator is called Last Seen, with which users are informed that others have seen their last activity on WhatsApp.
This will now be hidden from some contacts if you enable an upcoming toggle in WhatsApp. Although WhatsApp hasn't officially confirmed whether it is going to launch it, its APK has been leaked to the media which shows that there is indeed a toggle for hiding Last Seen from Group Chat Panel by default; although one can enable it or disable it.
WhatsApp Status is a new way to let people know what you're up to. People who follow you can see when you were last active and even if they miss your replies, they'll still see when you've read theirs. You don't need to turn on Availability Stickers – just send any type of message (text, photo, video) like normal!
Status Icon No Longer Shown in Chats with Your Friends
If you use WhatsApp, you may have noticed that your friends' online statuses are no longer shown in chats with them. But according to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is working on a new version of its app that includes an additional feature that will let users hide their online status when chatting with some specific contacts.
The idea behind it is to protect users who want to keep their online activity secret from certain people. For example, you can talk with your boss over WhatsApp but you don't want him or her to know if and when you're not at work – thus revealing your exact whereabouts.
You could make yourself available all day long while chatting with other colleagues but show as offline while talking to your boss. WhatsApp already has three status icons: Available, Busy, and Away. In addition to these options, there's also a fourth one called Hidden – it lets users set their status as offline without specifying why they are unavailable for communication.
Hide Last Seen Alerts in Individual Conversations
WhatsApp already has several ways to alert you of activity in a conversation, but it appears to be working on a new one. The last seen attribute lets your contacts know when you were last active in a chat—useful if you're supposed to be getting back to someone about something or just want people to know how responsive you are.
But what if you don't want someone to know that? WhatsApp is testing out letting users hide that indicator for individual conversations. Currently spotted by WABetaInfo, and shared by Twitter user Terence Eden, WhatsApp seems to be testing hiding last seen indicators only within specific conversations.
In other words, while they can still see when you were last active in a group chat or voice call, they won't see it when you reply to them individually. It's an interesting idea—one we've also seen with Google Allo and Facebook Messenger—and might prevent some awkward situations where both parties are actively ignoring each other.
However, there's no word yet on whether WhatsApp will roll out such a feature at all. It could simply have been created as part of an internal test and never make its way into production builds.
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May 26, 2017 / thebenraven	/ Leave a comment
Callindra tossed her head back and laughed, "You mean to tell me that you throw caution to the winds to live in this swamp, gambling with your very LIVES for a few coins and yet you frown on tossing dice? You people astound me."
"Go spend your money elsewhere. We don't gamble here." He folded his massive arms across his chest and Callindra sauntered out of the tavern, her blade tether rattling and jingling in some unseen draft, still chuckling.
Once outside she allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkness and after surveying her options, chose a campfire with a few capable looking warriors she had seen in the fighting earlier over the caravan. The hard, adult eyes of the children who peeked out a window at her were unnerving.
"Mind if I join you?" The man jerked his eyes from the flickering flames and glanced up at her.
"Ah- well…" He stammered, obviously about to tell her to leave until he saw she was proffering a flask. "Yeah of course you can. Thanks." He shifted slightly to one side on the log he was sitting on and she sat down heavily next to him.
Callindra took out her pipe and tobacco and tamped the bowl full of Karalan Imperialis. Before accepting the flask back she concentrated for a second, igniting a tiny flame over the bowl of the pipe. With a few puffs a thin streamer of smoke trailed from her mouth. Sighing in satisfaction she exhaled a plume of smoke, took the flask back and took a swallow.
"So, you here for fortune and glory too?" She asked giving the fighter next to her a sidelong glance. "Or do you actually have scruples?" His leather armor had seen some use as had the twin long daggers he was polishing.
"Well mainly for fortune." He replied with a dry chuckle. "There's a lot of money out in the swamp if you're willing to pay the price for it. I think I saw you out there in the fray earlier. Once you get a little older and a little less impatient you'll be one helluva fighter you know? That flip almost cost you more than you bet on. How 'bout you? What're you here for if not for fortune?"
"At least you're honest. I'm here because my brothers and I have a job to do. We're looking for an artifact of some importance and we have reason to believe it's probably here somewhere. My luck it's probably in the bottom of the swamp." She blew a few smoke rings and fidgeted with the shackles on her wrists.
"Heh, so you're here for the same thing we all are in spite of your high and mighty talk. No shame in it you know. In fact I could use some more good help, the weaklings keep dying off in my hunting party and only the suicidal go out in small groups. How 'bout it? You want to join up with us?" He stuck out his hand, "I'm Gabriel by the way."
"We aren't looking for anything most of you would think of as treasure, they're just small clay pieces broken from a statue." Callindra said, gripping his forearm in a swordsman's clasp, "I'm Callindra. I'll have to ask my brothers. Gabriel, that's a strangely angelic name for someone with your outlook on the world."
"Yeah, my old man wanted me to enter the priesthood. I never could stomach all that silence and the wardrobe leaves something to be desired too." A familiar and dangerous scent struck her nostrils and she looked sharply to the sky.
"Night lights are out again tonight I see." Wisps of vapor that glowed with a sickly green phosphorescence trailed from the swamp to wrap around one of the caravan wagons.
Callindra reached over her shoulder to loosen Brightfang in his sheath. Gabriel's hand strayed towards the hilts of his knives, watching her nervously. "You smell that?" She asked, ignoring him.
He inhaled deeply, "Yeah, Sulphur." Suddenly the wagon that had been enclosed in the vapor exploded as a massive figure seemingly made of black stone with glowing green lava pulsating under the surface landed on it. Raising its head to the sky it let loose a scream of rage, hunger and longing.
"Oh Gods it's the Ravenger! Callindra, we gotta get out of here now!" He grabbed for Callindra's hand and started backing away while the entire caravan burst into unholy green fire.
"You asked why I'm here Gabriel?" Callindra stood and unsheathed Brightfang whose steely ring sang eagerly in the night air. "This is why. Sometimes there are things that are so wrong they must be opposed no matter the cost. The forces of chaos must not be allowed to run free."
"Nothing survives The Ravenger Callindra; come with me and live to fight another day!" Some people were running screaming into the night while others ducked behind the Drunken Thief's imposing doors.
"I'd rather die with honor than live a coward. Pick up your blades and prove your worth." She hefted Brightfang and thought to herself, "So this is the Ravenger eh? Those innocents are going to be killed unless I take it on. I'm sure Tryst will be here soon, there's no way he'll be able to avoid feeling this evil presence." She sprinted towards the monstrosity without further hesitation.
"So I suppose you're here for the same reason as the rest of us eh?" Said a man, coming to sit next to her at the bar and taking a pull from the large earthenware mug of the thick bitter brew it contained, "Fortune and glory. There's so much treasure out there it's a wonder the whole world isn't combing this marsh."
She glanced around the crowded common room of The Drunken Thief taking in the contrast of the roughhewn tables and benches with the piles of glittering gemstones, gold and finely worked weapons that were being sorted on many of them. All the men and women here were heavily armed; she counted no fewer than six daggers on one man's belt.
"I can see the Fortune from here, but this place seems to be a little lacking of the other. My idea of Glory doesn't include grubbing around in the dirt for some spare change." She sampled from her own mug and sighed in satisfaction, "At least the drink measures up."
"You're lippy for a little tyke you know that? I suppose you acquit yourself pretty well with that toothpick of yours though, I think I saw you split one of those critters in half." He looked at the two foot sword hilt extending above her left shoulder with grudging respect. "I haven't seen a blade like that before, where'd you steal it?"
"He was a gift." She replied shortly, the memory of the man who had given it to her and taught her how to use it still fresh in her mind. The Winds sensed her mood and a slight gust blew the tangle of her hair back from her face, accentuating the vines that twined through it to wrap around her brow, the tiny flowers in it twinkling like jewels. "Brightfang is my companion." The breeze shook the Mithril chain that ran from the weighted pommel to a shackle on her wrist causing it to jingle merrily.
His eyebrows rose, "A bonded blade? Well that explains the chain I suppose. If you aren't here for the gold then why the hells are you here? As you so bluntly pointed out there ain't much more to this place than that." A few other patrons who were close by had started to pay attention to the conversation.
"Callindra, are these gentleman giving you any trouble?" A hulking figure in mirror polished plate mail with a large round shield on his left arm approached the bar, setting a large battle hammer down with a resounding thud.
"You're not bothering our sister are you?" A low voice asked, as a hand extended unseen from the shadows to rest on the shoulder of the man Callindra had been speaking with. He flinched in spite of himself, his skin crawling as though he had been touched by a corpse.
"There's a misunderstanding, we were just having a casual conversation." The man stood and backed away from the bar, coming into contact with a youth in black leather whose face told a story of pain beyond his years. Two bastard swords were nestled in a harness that crossed his back, their size looking almost comical until the way he moved spoke of his proficiency with them.
"Good. We don't want any problems." Cronos said, flicking a gold at the bartender who deftly batted it over his shoulder into the unseen cashbox and handed over another tankard of Bog Ale.
Callindra looked at her brothers and rolled her eyes, "You guys are so overprotective."
"I wasn't worried about your safety little sister, I was more concerned that you'd get us thrown out of here." Tryst's absurdly pretty face creased in a frown as he looked past her at the massive men with battle clubs the size of small trees who stood by the door, "We need to get information here."
"Whatever, I'm going to go see if that little bald dude wants to toss some dice." She stood and carried her ponderous tankard over to a table where a small man was inspecting some gems. "You up for a game old man?"
"Pull up a chair youngster, fifty gold buy in." He rattled a dice cup and Callindra threw ten platinum on the table with a shrug. Tossing the dice, she grinned.
"Small straight, not bad. You might have trouble beating that."
He deftly scooped the dice and spun them onto the table. Just before they stopped rolling his hand flickered as to move his wager into the center of the table, but Callindra saw him tap one of the dice with his sleeve, causing it to alter its course. Rather than cause a scene, she flicked a finger and sent a tiny zephyr out to make the die roll randomly again.
"What have I told you about funny business?" The bouncer was unbelievably fast and quiet for all that he was the size of a horse; she hadn't seen or heard him approach. "When you cheat the patrons they don't have money to drink."
"There's no problem, we just want to dice." Callindra was enjoying herself and didn't really care about the money.
Letting go of the little man who scooped up his gems and darted away leaving his wager on the table, the bouncer turned his gaze towards her and flexed his tree trunk arms. "We. Don't. Gamble. Here."
Callindra tossed her head back and laughed, "You mean to tell me that you throw caution to the winds to live in this shithole, gambling with your very LIVES for a few coins and yet you frown on tossing dice? You people astound me."
May 12, 2017 May 11, 2017 / thebenraven	/ Leave a comment
After following the lead of the Hand, they had been traveling for days and now ended up in hills that rolled in and out of a fetid swamp. Rain was falling in a dismal drizzle and the cold water was beginning to soak through the seams of their thick woolen cloaks. It fit Callindra's mood perfectly.
"That god rotting thing is broken isn't it?" She said, glaring at Tryst as he was looking at the Hand where it sat on his palm.
"It is possible that what we seek has been lost out here." Tryst replied, although he didn't sound convinced himself. "Or maybe the rumors of a city of treasure hunters somewhere out here are real. All we can do is keep following it."
"Is the sun going down or coming up?" Cronos grumbled, squinting at the sky.
"Going down." Vilhylm said, "We should find a place to camp for the night."
They came to the top of a small hill overlooking a valley. Swamp fire glowed sickly green in pools of fetid water. There were other lights as well; torches surrounding a low stone building and a large bonfire surrounded by a semi-circle of wagons. The flickers of swamp fire began to move forward, encroaching on the circle of wagons and they realized it wasn't just glowing fungus, it was the light of abyssal fire in the eyes of a pack of hunched creatures charging the bonfire.
As one, the tired group found new strength and ran down the incline. Calling up arcane power, Callindra easily outdistanced the others as the Winds gathered beneath her allowing her to leap dozens of paces over pools of stagnant water. Her braid trailed after her like a banner as she landed in the middle of the fray, Brightfang slashing down on one of the creatures with brutal force. The man who had been retreating from deadly claws and fangs blinked in surprise as the monster he had been facing fell, its body nearly cloven in twain.
Callindra was already kicking it off her blade and engaging another foe. A gout of flames announced Cronos's arrival to the fight, crisping three of the creatures where they stood and Tryst's hammer mashed the skull of another into an unrecognizable mass of brains and bone. Vilhylm methodically used the point and edge of his spear to stab and slice, leaving dead and wounded spawn behind him. As quickly as it had begun, the battle was over; the few remaining monsters leaping into pools and swimming into the depths.
With a practiced flick of her left wrist, Callindra shed the blood from Brightfang and slid him into the sheath over her shoulder. The others were looking at her and her brothers warily and Tryst stepped forward to speak with them.
"Greetings friends." He said, his voice smooth and confident. "It seems we helped you out of a spot of trouble, could you perhaps allow us to share your fire for the night?"
"Them things is just what comes before The Ravenger most times." A grizzled man with a short hafted double bladed ax says, looking them each over carefully. "They ain't letting anyone into The Drunken Thief until they're sure that pus bucket ain't showing up." He spat to one side with a sour look on his face.
"Why won't they let anyone else inside?" Tryst asked, noticing children with wide serious eyes staring at them from beneath the wagons. "Surely there's room for everyone."
"Room fer paying customers maybe." He said, "We ain't hit it rich enough to pay their prices yet."
"Shut er gob Milt, they don't need ta know nothin." Another, less savory looking man said, looking suspiciously at Tryst and his companions in turn.
"You're being a tad uncharitable friend." Callindra said, her ire beginning to rise as she too noticed the children with creepy adult eyes. "I'm pretty sure we just saved your lives. I'm not used to people whose lives I just saved being so rude."
"I ain't used ta little girls who can't keep their mouths shut." He snarled, putting his hand on the well-worn hilt of a short sword at his hip.
"Dax, knock it off. There's more'n enough out there, no need to get tetchy." Milt said, spitting on the ground again. "He's just on edge about this Ravenger business and we lost a couple good men out there yesterday, not to mention a good haul."
"A haul?" Callindra asked, keeping an eye on Dax as the man glared at her.
"Yeah. Found a good stash of gold and even a suit of armor that wasn't rusted so it must a been magic." Milt paused to spit. "Damn boggers busted out a one of them pools and dragged 'em under fore we could even pull steel."
"You expect us to believe that there's treasure out here?" Cronos asked, his voice dubious. "In this gods forsaken swamp?"
"Ha! Believe what ya want kiddo, but I seen more gold in a month in this shit hole then I seen in my life." Milt spit again and Callindra could see now that he was rolling a quid of tobacco around in his mouth. "You all seem capable enough. Wanna make some coin?"
Before any of them could answer, the door of the tavern swung open and all heads turned to watch a beautiful woman with well-muscled arms and a stout cudgel at her hip stood in the doorway. She brushed her hands on her apron, an action that emphasized the swell of her breasts against her dress.
"Danger's over, come on in and have a drink if you want." She called out with a welcoming smile. "The ale's warm and it's strong and the food's as good as you'll find in a hundred leagues."
With a grin, Callindra sauntered into the tavern, noting the name on the sign above the door. 'The Drunken Thief' seemed more like a fortress than an inn, thick stone walls and iron bound doors. A man stood on either side of the door, their biceps as big around as her waist, looking at her with impassive suspicion.
"Relax boys, I'm just here for a drink." She said, patting the one on the left on a bulging arm and noting the resemblance between the two men. "Twins. That's adorable!"
"Adorable." The hulking man replied, "That sword is adorable."
"Yeah, he is." Callindra said with a grin and walked up to the bar.
"Whaddaya want?" The wide man behind the bar asked, "We got bog ale and black death."
"I'll take an ale then." She said, tossing him a gold coin.
The bartender batted the coin out of the air behind himself where it clattered into a grate beneath the bar and pulled a clay mug from a shelf, filling it from a tap.
"They weren't kidding about your prices were they? She asked, "Gods and demons this ale had better be amazing."
"It's worth more'n that lass." He said with a smile.
May 5, 2017 / thebenraven	/ Leave a comment
"Callindra, I need you up here." Tryst said. They had stopped after walking for perhaps a quarter of a candle-mark, the smell of fresh air was getting stronger. Callindra squeezed past the others and came to where Tryst was frowning at a closed door.
"I think it's locked but I can't tell. I don't want to break the latch by trying to turn it without unlocking it first." He said, "Can you take a look for me?"
She laid her hand on the door, leaning forward to look at the keyhole. The hooded lantern Vilhylm handed to her illuminated the lock, but she set it down and shuttered it. Pale moonlight shone through the hole briefly and then went out. The fresh air was briefly fouled by a whiff of rotting meat.
Stepping swiftly back, Callindra gently pushed the others back as well. "Something is out there, and I don't think it's friendly." She said in a low voice. "I could smell rotten flesh, but I'm not sure if it's undead or just has bad hygiene."
"Is the door locked?" Tryst asked.
"I don't know, I didn't want to stay close enough to be within reach." She said.
"Within reach of what?" Cronos asked.
Before she could respond, the door was slammed in with terrible force. It shattered the brickwork of the tunnel and half tore from its hinges and a huge hand reached in, groping for something to crush. With a cry, Callindra sprang forward and hacked the last knuckle off the middle finger with a blur of shining steel.
The hand was jerked out of reach swiftly and Callindra ran after it. "This might be our only chance to escape!" She shouted, not looking to see if her brothers were following.
Once outside, she dove to one side, tucking and rolling to come up in a fighting crouch. The others hadn't followed and the giant didn't seem to notice that she'd escaped. It was a massive thing, all ropy muscle stretched taunt over heavy bones. As she watched, it bent to reach its uninjured hand into the opening again.
She set her jaw, waited for her moment and ran towards the thing, ducking beneath the giant's arm while whipping Brightfang in a wicked arc that cut the arm to the bone. The creature stumbled backward, arm hanging uselessly and mouth gaping in a silent roar of pain. Callindra's triumph was short lived as its other hand slapped her aside like a bug. Brightfang flew from her hand as the blow fractured her left arm and several ribs.
Callindra gritted her teeth and swung her right arm in a wide arc even as she spun through the air to land on her feet, sliding to a stop with a gentle guiding gust of wind. The Mithril chain glittered in the moonlight as the motion of her arm brought Brightfang spinning in a wide circle that ended with the sword burying itself in the monster's back.
The giant turned eyes burning with abyssal flame upon her and reached up to grab the chain with its good hand. She could feel the roots of Jorda's Gift growing through the flesh of her arm to wrench the bone back into place and the pain drove her to her knees.
"HELP YOU IDIOTS!" She screamed, hoping to galvanize her brothers into action and tried to yank on the chain hard enough to dislodge Brightfang from where he was embedded in the giant's back.
An explosion of light from within the tunnel was followed by a blast of fire that bathed the monster's legs. Cronos leaped out in its wake, his twin swords flashing in the dying light of the fire. Vilhylm leaped completely over the younger man, stabbing his bone spear into the giant's leg shouting a harsh battle cry. Tryst calmly walked forward, shield shining before him and hammer in his right hand.
Ignoring her brothers, the giant yanked on the chain, pulling her through the air by the shackle on her right wrist. Callindra twisted in the air, trying to control the path of her flight and only by sheer luck and the blessing of the winds managed to swing sideways far enough to wrap the chain around it instead of being deposited directly into the giant's mouth.
A sickening crunch sounded just next to her and Callindra saw that the giant had bitten down on the chain instead of her body. Shards of shattered teeth were falling from its mouth as it shook its head in renewed pain and anger. She managed to wrap her gloved hand around the chain and hang on as she was flung about. The chain flung from its mouth and she swung briefly before Brightfang pulled free of the things' flesh and she landed, rolling and painfully jarring her injuries.
Somehow knowing exactly where he would be, Callindra put out her right hand and caught her sword by the hilt as he flew toward her. Standing with a wince at the pain in her ribs she took in the battle scene. Working with precision, Cronos and Vilhylm flanked the monster while Tryst stood in front of it, the light shining from his shield seeming to confuse it. When her brothers ran forward in a rush on either side, she struck out as well, summoning a single mighty blade of wind to slice across the giant's back. Their combined attack brought the monster crashing down, flattening some small trees with its death throes.
"We have to go." Tryst said, extinguishing the light on his shield. "There are more of them. I can… feel them out there."
Callindra looked at him, a flicker of concern flashing across her face. She thought she saw a flicker of emerald green in his eyes, but it was gone so fast it might have been her imagination. The lingering doubt that she thought she'd banished returned. Had he been infected that night? It seemed impossible that he had been able to fight it off for months. Jorda had even let him enter her realm and he hadn't shown any signs.
A crashing sound in the undergrowth snapped her back to the current problem. "Tryst, I can't run very far with these broken ribs." She said, "Can you patch me up just enough that we can escape?"
"No time." Vilhylm said, staring off into the trees.
"He's right Callindra." Tryst said, frowning at her as though she had gotten injured on purpose.
With a groan, she gritted her teeth and followed Vilhylm as he led them away from the walls. Behind them, the roar of battle erupted. Callindra shuddered at the sounds of men and women dying in the night while they fled. It didn't seem right. It didn't seem fair. But they needed to complete their mission or else more cities would fall. Somehow she was hopeful that Denoria would fight off this invasion. That huge dragon hadn't been circling the city, and it was the real harbinger of destruction.
Crossbow bolts fell like deadly hail as Kurien ran down the street with a bag of coins clinking merrily at his belt. The gold had been freely given, albeit under false pretenses, and he had no intention of giving it back. He had sold the Lord of this Holding a batch of his 'Famous Rejuvenating Elixir' for an exorbitant amount of gold. It was, of course, really worthless rotgut mixed with a few herbs to make it taste like medication, but how would the greedy old bastard ever learn his lesson if he didn't pay for it?
He ducked under a bolt that would have punctured his skull, slipped sideways into an alley, put his back against the wall and got ready. Pulling a dagger from his belt, he cut through a rope that held a stack of empty casks and sent them tumbling into the alleyway.
"Halt you thieving mongrel!" One of the guards chasing him shouted. "Come back with the Lord's gold!"
When the guard came around the corner at a dead sprint, he collided with the tumbling barrels, crashing onto his face. The second guard was running too fast and had to choose between stepping on his friend or hitting the barrels. The first guard's face made a funny squishing sound when it was mushed into the mud.
"Watch your step friends, these streets are slippery!" Kurien said cheerfully, climbing up a nearby rain gutter to the third floor of a warehouse and vaulting into an open window. A group of dangerous looking folk all turned to stare in his direction. A case of something was open on a table between them and all of them were armed to the teeth.
"Raken, is this one of yours?" A woman with a scar running across her left eye asked in an artificially casual drawl as her hand fell to the hilt of a nasty looking dagger at her belt.
"Jana, you know better, this punk isn't attached to us." Raken said, giving Kurien a narrow glare. "Although he might be your lackey."
"Hey I'm just passing through, but The Lord's Guard is hot on my trail." Kurien laughed, "Of course it's all just a silly misunderstanding. I didn't mean to interrupt your er whatever this is."
"Get him!" Jana shouted, drawing her dagger.
Kurien struck a theatrical pose and a jangling guitar chord struck up from nowhere. Jana's dagger dropped from limp fingers and she stared at him with surprise clear on her face. She made a calming gesture towards her ruffians as Kurien spread his hand wide. "Come now friends, there's no reason to hurt ME, I'm on YOUR side!"
The music continued and this time Raken relaxed, watching the half-elf as he almost danced through the room toward the door. Kurien didn't give the others the chance to decide to take matters into their own hands.
"Hey Boss… shouldn't we be stopping him?" One of the brighter ones asked.
"He's fine." Raken and Jana said almost in unison.
"Hey wait a minute, that's a spell!" Another of the toughs yelled, but Kurien was already through the door and the guard was just struggling through the window.
Laughing merrily, he ran through the hallway, down a flight of stairs and out the door. He pulled off the hat with its attached wig, stuffed it into a small pack and flipped his cloak so that the drab gray showed instead of the bright scarlet he had been wearing. It hadn't been much of a disguise in the first place but these idiots were easily fooled.
A young beggar sat a few streets down with a bowl that contained a single copper, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. The poor girl was just skin and bone! Kurien patted her on her grimy head and walked down the street casually, whistling a merry tune. He was around the corner before she saw the handful of gold in her bowl. It had been a wonderful day of fooling the so-called "Lord" of this city, and now it was time to redistribute his ill-gotten wealth among those who truly needed it.


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The Tactical Support Wing (TSW) is one of three reserve aircraft wings of the United States Navy. The wing reports to the Commander, Naval Air Force Reserve. It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas along with the reserve's Fleet Logistics Support Wing (FLSW). The third reserve wing is the Maritime Support Wing (MSW) which is headquartered at Naval Air Station North Island, California. The wing's primary mission is operational and training support for active forces. It is composed of five flying squadrons.

The wing was established on 1 April 1970 as Reserve Carrier Air Wing 20 (CVWR-20). It was later redesignated to its current name on 1 April 2007.

It is the Navy Reserve's only tactical wing since the 1994 disestablishment Reserve Carrier Air Wing 30 (CVWR-30).

Subordinate units

Current squadrons
The Tactical Support Wing consists of five squadrons :

VFC-12 Fighting Omars – based at NAS Oceana, Virginia, operating the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
VFC-13 Saints – based at NAS Fallon, Nevada, operating the F-16C Fighting Falcon
VFC-111 Sundowners – based at NAS Key West, Florida, operating the F-5 Tiger II
VFC-204 River Rattlers – based at NAS JRB New Orleans, Louisiana, operating the F-5 Tiger II (was formerly designated VA-204 and VFA-204)
VAQ-209 Star Warriors – based at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington, operating the EA-18G Growler

Former squadrons
Dates of assignment to the wing are shown in parenthesis
 HS-75 Emerald Knights
(transferred from CVSGR-70 June 1976 to Helicopter Wing Reserveand marked as CVWR-20 mobilization squadron until April 2007)
 VAW-77 Nightwolves
(November 1995 to March 2013)
 VAW-78 Fighting Escargots
(transferred from CVSGR-70 September 1975 to March 2005)
 VFA-201 Hunters
(July 1970 to March 2007, was originally designated VF-201)
 VF-202 Superheats
(July 1970 to December 1994)
 VFA-203 Blue Dolphins
(July 1970 to June 2004, was originally designated VA-203)
 VA-205 Green Falcons
(July 1970 to December 1994)
 VFP-206 Peeping Toms
(June 1970 to March 1987)
 VAW-207
(July 1970 to September 1974)
 VAK-208 Jockeys
(July 1970 to September 1989, was originally designated VAQ-208)
 VA-209
(July 1970 to August 1971)
 VA-210 Black Hawks
(July 1970 to June 1971)

History

The wing was established on 1 April 1970 as Reserve Carrier Air Wing 20 (CVWR-20) along with fellow reserve wings Reserve Carrier Air Wing 30 (CVWR-30) also on 1 April 1970 and Reserve Antisubmarine Carrier Air Group 70 (CVSGR-70) and Reserve Antisubmarine Carrier Air Group 80 (CVSGR-80) both on 1 May 1970. CVWR-20 and CVSG-70 were aligned with the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and CVWR-30 and CVSGR-80 with the U.S. Pacific Fleet. All four wings were established as part of a plan to create a mirror image of the active duty units, after previous years saw the reserve units fly outdated aircraft that also had to be shared with the Marine Corps Reserve.
The two CVSGRs were disestablished in June and July of 1976 and CVWR-30 was disestablished on 31 December 1994 leaving CVWR-20 as the only remaining sea going reserve air wing.

CVWR-20 was initially composed of VA-203, VA-204, VA-205, VFP-206, VAW-207, VAQ-208, VA-209, and VA-210. The wing's five VA squadrons were atypical as active component air wings consisted of two VF and three VA squadrons. VA-209 and VA-210 were replaced by VF-201 and VF-202 and were disestablished in 1971. In October 1977 VAQ-209 was established as the wing's Tactical Electronic Warfare squadron. The wing's original VAQ squadron, VAQ-208 though designated VAQ operated KA-3 Skywarrior tankers (not the EKA-3B electronic warfare variant) and in 1979 it was redesignated VAK-208 to reflect that reality. VA-204 (now designated VFC-204) is the only squadron which was established with the wing and remains a part of it today.

In June 1975, the wing deployed aboard , composed of VF-201, VF-202, VA-203, VA-204, VA-205, VPF-206, and VAQ-208. The squadrons conducted carrier qualifications alongside units from CVWR-30.

In July 1989, CVWR-20 deployed aboard  for a 10-day cruise, earning the captain's praise and achieving a 94 percent boarding rate.

On 1 October 1992, CVWR-20 took over control of VFC-12 and VFC-13. Both squadrons were previously assigned to the Fleet Logistics Support Wing. In November 2006 VFC-13's permanent Key West detachment was established as VFC-111 and was added to the wing.

The 1994 disestablishment of CVWR-30 left CVWR-20 as the only reserve air wing capable of deploying to carriers, with a fleet of F/A-18 Hornets, operated by VFC-12 and VFC-13, as well as E-2 Hawkeyes, part of VAW-77 and VAW-78, making up the wing.

In 2003, members of the wing's VFA-201 deployed as part of Carrier Air Wing 8 aboard .

In 2006, the wing conducted operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, with VAQ-209 deploying to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, for three months. VAW-77, at the time the Navy's sole expeditionary E-2 squadron, conducted drug interdiction operations in the Caribbean. In addition, the squadron provided command and control for hundreds of aircraft during the search and rescue operation in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

On 1 April 2007 CVWR-20 was redesigned Tactical Support Wing in recognition of the wing's change in function from its original mirror image of an active component carrier air wing able to deploy aboard aircraft carriers to its current function of operational and training support for active forces. At the time of the redesignation the wing consisted of six squadrons: VFA-204 which was the original CVWR-20's VA-204, VAQ-209 which was established into the wing in 1977, VFC-12 and VFC-13 which transferred into the wing in 1992, VFC-111 which was established into the wing from VFC-13 in 2006, and VAW-77 which had been established in 1995 specifically to support the United States Coast Guard and other Federal Agencies in interdicting illegal drug trafficking through the Caribbean Sea and across the southern border. VAW-77 was deactivated in March of 2013 leaving the wing with its current five squadrons. By 2022 VFA-204 was the sole remaining squadron in the Navy flying the F/A-18C Hornet. In October of 2022 it retired the Hornet from Navy service, was redesignated VFC-204 and received VFC-13's F-5 Tiger II aircraft as VFC-13 transitioned from the F-5 to the F-16C Fighting Falcon.

See also
 Carrier air wing
 List of United States Navy aircraft wings

References

Air wings of the United States Navy
Military units and formations in Georgia (U.S. state)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


While "expressionism," or painting with emotion, can be traced back to such masters as Vincent Van Gogh and Henri Matisse, "abstract expressionism" takes a more cerebral, or geometric, approach, as in the works of Wassily Kandinsky. Personally, no matter the style or subject, I prefer to paint with both my mind and my emotions.
Whether or not a subject informs the art, this is where line, shape, form and color reign.
"Personality is everything in art and poetry" – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Grounded in nature, "figurative" paintings include everything from nudes and portraits to still lifes and landscapes.
Excellent reproductions allow us to enjoy the most exalted masters as well as the humblest upstarts in the stillness of our own surroundings.


text:
What's Plan B? – The Small, the Agile, and the Many
Software Once Led Us to the Precipice of Nuclear War. What Will AI Do?
Posted on March 9, 2021 by steve blank
A version of this story previously appeared in Defense One.
The story of RYAN and Able Archer is an oft-told lesson of a U.S. intelligence failure, miscalculation, and two superpowers unaware they were on the brink of an accidental nuclear war — all because the Soviet Union relied on a software program to make predictions that were based on false assumptions.
As more of our weapons systems and analytical and predictive systems become enabled by AI and Machine Learning, the lessons of RYAN and Able Archer is a cautionary tale for the DoD.
In 1983, the world's superpowers drew near to accidental nuclear war, largely because the Soviet Union relied on software to make predictions that were based on false assumptions. Today, as the Pentagon moves to infuse artificial-intelligence tools into just about every aspect of its workings, it's worth remembering the lessons of RYAN and Able Archer.
Two years earlier, the Soviet Union had deployed a software program dubbed RYAN, for Raketno Yadernoye Napadenie, or sudden nuclear missile attack. Massive for its time, RYAN sought to compute the relative power of the two superpowers by modeling 40,000 military, political, and economic factors, including 292 "indicators" reported from agents (spies) abroad. It was run by the KGB, which employed more than 200 people just to input the data.
The Soviets built RYAN to warn them when their country's relative strength had declined to a point that the U.S. might launch a preemptive first strike on the Soviet Union. Leaders decided that if Soviet power was at least 70 percent of that of the United States the balance of power was stable. As the months went by, this number plummeted. By 1983, RYAN reported that Soviet power had declined to just 45 percent of that of the United States.
This amplified Soviet leaders' paranoia. After 25 years of back-and-forth in the nuclear arms race, the Peacekeeper ICBM and the Trident SLBM were tipping the balance in favor of the United States. Responding to the Soviet introduction of SS-20 intermediate-range ballistic missiles to Eastern Europe in 1983, the U.S. deployed Pershing II and Ground Launched Cruise Missiles missiles to Western Europe, which reduced warning time of attack on Moscow to less than eight minutes. And in March 1983, President Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative – "Star Wars" – to intercept Soviet ICBMs, then piled on just weeks later by publicly labeling the Soviet Union "the Evil Empire." And to cap off a very bad year in the Cold War, in September 1983 the Soviets accidentally shot down a civilian 747 airliner—KAL 007—killing all 269 aboard.
By 1983, Soviet political and military leaders truly believed a nuclear war was coming. The RYAN program took on even greater importance. To feed RYAN, the KGB made its top priority to collect indicators of anything that might precede a potential surprise nuclear missile attack. They were looking for direct indicators—had the U.S. Continuity of Government program (doomsday planes) been activated? Had the U.S. given advance warning to launch our strategic nuclear forces? They also collected secondary indicators. Their agents inside the U.S. and allied countries watched for heightened activities in and around Washington offices (White House, Pentagon, State Dept, CIA, etc.), including the White House parking lot, places of evacuation and shelter, the level of blood held in blood banks, observation of where nuclear weapons were stored, etc. Some of the indicators were based on a mirror-image of how the Warsaw Pact would prepare for war. Soviet case officers were instructed to look for deviations in the behavior of people in possession of classified information suddenly moving into specially equipped secure accommodations.
While most of the KGB station chiefs and case officers thought Moscow was being paranoid, they dutifully reported what they thought their leaders wanted to hear.
By November 1983, Soviet military and political leaders had convinced themselves that a nuclear first strike from the United States was probable. The RYAN program told them that the odds favored the U.S., and the war indicators in Moscow were flashing red.
That month, NATO ran a highly realistic set of wargames in Europe called Able Archer 83. These included an airlift of 19,000 U.S. soldiers in 170 aircraft under radio silence to Europe, the shifting of commands from Permanent War Headquarters to the Alternate War Headquarters, and practicing nuclear weapons release procedures.
In reaction, the Chief of the Soviet Air Forces ordered all units of the Soviet 4th Air Army on alert which included preparations for immediate use of nuclear weapons. It appears that at least some Soviet forces were preparing to preempt or counterattack a NATO strike launched under cover of Able Archer.
Luckily, no one overreacted. The Able Archer 83 exercise passed.
For years, the U.S had no idea that the Soviet Union had believed the exercise was a cover to launch a nuclear first strike. The Berlin Wall had fallen by the time information from a defector and an end-of-tour letter from the U.S. general responsible for Air Force Intelligence in Europe prompted presidential intelligence board to revisit what the Soviets had thought. In hindsight, RYAN and Able Archer took the Cold War to the brink of Armageddon.
Even when RYAN was reporting that the U.S. had a decisive military advantage, what made the Soviets believe that we would launch a first-nuclear strike? No one knows. However, given Nazi Germany's surprise attack on the Soviet Union in WWII, resulting in 25 million dead and the extreme devastation inflicted on their country, the Soviet Union had reason to be paranoid. Some have suggested that the Soviets had interpreted President Carter's 1980 Presidential Directive 59 Nuclear Weapon Employment Policy as preparation for a nuclear first strike. Perhaps the Soviet Union ascribed their own plans for a first strike on the U.S. to their Cold War enemy. Or perhaps the U.S. actually did have a first-strike option in one of our operational plans that the Soviets discovered via espionage.
Why were the Soviets convinced that a war would start with a war game? Several months after Able Archer, the Soviet Minister of Defense publicly acknowledged his country's inability to tell a big NATO exercise from an actual attack: "It was difficult to catch the difference between working out training questions and actual preparation of large-scale aggression." It's quite likely that the Soviets' own plans for launching a war in Europe would have been as part of a war game.
Certainly the Soviets, believing the signals of the RYAN alert system, were primed to assume a U.S. attack. In attempting to automate military policy and potential actions, the Soviets had amplified their existing paranoia. (A movie called War Games came out that year with some of the same themes.)
A Cautionary Tale for Automating Policy and Prediction
Forty years ago RYAN attempted to automate military policy and potential actions. But in the end, RYAN failed in actually predicting U.S. intent. Instead, RYAN reinforced existing fears, and accidently created its own paranoia.
While the intelligence lessons of RYAN and Able Archer have been rehashed for decades, as our own AI initiatives scale no one is asking what lessons RYAN/Able Archer should have taught us about building predictive models and what happens when our adversaries rely on them.
Which leads to the question: What could happen when we start using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to shape policy?
What could happen when we start using artificial intelligence and machine learning to shape policy?
Will AI/ML actually predict human intent?
What happens when the machines start seeing patterns that aren't there?
How do we ensure that unintentional bias doesn't creep into the model?
How much will we depend on an AI that can't explain how it reached its decision?
How do we deconflict and deescalate machine-driven conclusions? Where and when should the humans be in the loop?
How do we ensure foreign actors can't pollute the datasets and sensors used to drive the model and/or steal the model and look for its vulnerabilities?
How do we ensure that those with a specific agenda (i.e. Andropov, chairman of the KGB) don't bias the data?
How do we ensure we aren't using a software program that misleads our own leaders?
The somewhat-comforting news is that others have been thinking about these problems for a while. In 2020, the Defense Department formally adopted five AI ethical principles recommended by the Defense Innovation Board for the development of artificial intelligence capabilities: AI projects need to be Responsible, Equitable, Traceable, Reliable and Governable. The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center appointed a head of ethics policy to translate these principles into practice. Under JAIC's 2.0 mission, they are no longer the sole developer of AI projects, but instead providing services and common software platforms. Now it's up to the JAIC ethics front office to ensure that the hundreds of mission areas and contractors across the DoD adhere to these standards.
Here's hoping they all remember the lessons of RYAN.
RYAN amplified the paranoia the Soviet leadership already had
The assumptions and beliefs of people who create the software shape the outcomes
Using data to model an adversary's potential actions is limited by your ability to model its leaderships intent
Your planning and world view are almost guaranteed not to be the same as those of your adversary
Having an overwhelming military advantage may force an adversary into a corner. They may act in ways that seem irrational
Responsible, Equitable, Traceable, Reliable and Governable are great aspirational goals
Filed under: National Security |
« Hacking for Allies E Pluribus Unum – A Rallying Cry for National Service »
Barry Regan, on March 9, 2021 at 7:06 am said:
fascinating stuff, especially for someone who was a trainee naval warfare office in 1983 in the UK. Having finished a set of make or break exams in the 1H of the year, we had a series of lectures while awaiting the results. One has stuck in my mind ever since. The lecturer asked us why we thought the Soviet Union was paranoid and stated that it was because they were surrounded. The thesis was met by laughter across the class groups – obviously, the Soviet Union was not surrounded – they would be coming east to west across the European mainland and trying to outflank us down the North Atlantic! That idea was nullified by simple change in map – from the classic US in the West, Asia in the East, Poles top and bottom, to one where the Soviet Union was at the centre, faced to the west by Europe and Nato, across the Pole by Canada and the US and to the east by China and Japan/ the US Pacific fleets.
Taking that step to look at the world through your opponents eyes has stayed with me ever since.
That said, there was also a much higher level of overt military activity all around the North EMEA region at that time – both around and above the UK, thru the North Sea into the Baltic.
"It's quite likely that the Soviets' own plans for launching a war in Europe would have been as part of a war game." We (though I suspect (hope?) that more senior planners had a less fatalistic view) certainly had the assumption that most of our major ships had, or would get, a shadow and the first we would know about a war would have been a submarine launched anti-ship missile at about the same time as a major Warsaw pact exercise on the inner German Border "spilled over".
In my career today (I've sold Enterpise Software for many years) I'm starting to see another problem for the AI/ML space. Like most other organisations we use large amounts of "intent" capture, to, like the RYAN system, try to sift huge amounts of data though now to identify potential customers. The challenge is in the proliferation of systems and the way that recommendations are made. Ideally, these systems identify the wheat from the chaff, but the reality in actual operation is that the differential between (a) who read article 1 and (b) who read article 1 and looked at a website is slight; but the systems can generate large volumes of (b) very easily and so do. Human nature makes it very difficult to be so stringent that the system is asked to produce few recommendations "in case we miss something" so a sea of confusion and stasis becomes the order of the day.
Thanks for the article.
BR,Barry


text:
Ricci Jones
www.ESEAVote.org The 2023 ESEA Elections began today. Voting takes places starting today, Monday January 30, 2023 at 12:01am and ends...
The 2023 ESEA Elections will run starting Monday, January 30, 2023 at 12:01am and end on Monday, February 6, 2023...
The following positions will have an election held online starting Monday, January 30, 2023 at 12:01am PT through Monday, February...
On Thursday, July 8, 2021, ESEA President Jan Giles, new ESEA member Connie Betancourt, and Rachel Germon were invited to...
SOT Election Info – 2021/2022
1 year ago Ricci Jones
VOTING BEGINS SEPTEMBER 21st at 12:01 am and ENDS SEPTEMBER 24th at 9:00 am Election tie-breaker system is located...
CCSD's Mandatory COVID Testing
Important Update on CCSD's Mandatory Testing Announcement - Thursday, August 5, 2021 Thursday, August 5, 2021, the Clark County School...
Enrollment for the Emergency Broadband Benefit is now open. The temporary benefit provides a discount of up to $50 per...
ESEA Unemployment FAQ
ESEA had a great victory this legislative session to ensure that our bargaining unit has access to unemployment benefits over...
Membership Applications You may download and fill out ESEA membership applications instead of completing the online "Join Now" option if...


text:
Q: Hosting a Python sockets server on the web I made a simple chat app for my friends and I to use, but I don't want to host the server on my computer, I want to host it on the web. Does anyone know any good services or tutorials on doing this?

A: as you know
you should run some webserver to serve your python socket on it.
best solution to do this
please install gunicorn and then proxy pass with nginx on it
Python <-> Gunicorn <-> Nginx


International Black Women's Public Policy Institute (IBWPPI) Black Women Leaders Convene in Bermuda during Women History Month March 3-6, 2016.
Bermuda – Black women leaders from around the world will gather on the beautiful historic Island of Bermuda, March 3-6, 2016, for an annual meeting focusing on three critical issues; The state of Black Women's Health and Wellness, Economic Security and Access to Basic and Advance Education. The meeting will be held at the exquisite Fairmont Southampton 101 South Shore Road Southhampton, Bermuda SN02.
IBWPPI will convene and join women from throughout the Caribbean, including Cuba and Haiti. THe board of directors representing Africa, Belize, Bermuda and eight major cities throughout North America: joined by other global thinkers will meet for the purpose of establishing a mutual agenda for Black Women everywhere.
Attendees will be welcomed by local prominent leaders. Vanessa DeLuca, Editor in Chief, Essence Magazine will serve as keynote speaker at the International Influencers Luncheon on Friday, March 4th along with Alva Adams-Mason, Director of African American Business Strategy and Corporate Communications at Toyota. Lori George Billingsley, Vice President of Community Relations, Coca-Coca North America will serve as Special Guest Speaker during the Closing Night's Dinner on Saturday March 5th.
IBWPPI is a non-partisan non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of Black women internationally and domestically. Through policy and collaborative programming, IBWPPI addresses the major threats to Black women and their families. IBWPPI believes in a bottom-up approach to policy-making that is inclusive and empowering.


The City of Firebaugh Business Development Department provides businesses with a central point to obtain relevant information on developing, redeveloping, expanding or relocating commercial or industrial business within the City of Firebaugh.
Along with providing assistance with respect to physical site selection, the department acts as a liaison to assist business through the various municipal approval processes.
The city has a Redevelopment Agency that is providing funding for public infrastructure, housing development and assisting in economic development.
Often referred to as the Hub of the Great West Side, Firebaugh is probably best known as an important agricultural area. Major crops grown in the area include fruits, vegetables, nuts and fiber crops including tomato, garlic, cantaloupes, and cotton. Along with agriculture, diversity has been developing Firebaugh; new growth in manufacturing, packing and processing plants has enhanced Firebaugh's economic outlook.
The Westside Economic Development Action Plan is a task-oriented document focused on improving economic conditions on the West Side Region of Fresno County. The Action Plan is a customized approach that takes into consideration the unique economic, physical and social conditions of the West Side Region as recently documented in the Fresno County Westside Economic Development Project-Final Report prepared by Jack Faucett Associates. Both documents were developed with the input and participation of stakeholders from the region including residents, business owners, representatives from cities and unincorporated communities, special districts, school districts, educational institutions and other economic development partners.
The overall goals and objectives of the Economic Development Element of the County's General Plan continue to be the foundation of the Westside Action Plan. The specific initiatives included in this Action Plan take into consideration the unique opportunities and challenges emerging in the West Side Region.
The City of Firebaugh has been actively involved in addressing change in the West Side on a regional level. As a testament to this, Firebaugh city and community leaders joined counterparts from other Western Fresno and Kings Counties cities at the Rural Development Initiative's (RDI) kickoff held September 23 & 24 at Harris Ranch in Coalinga.
The intent of the kickoff event was to create a community conversation about the future of Western Fresno and Kings Counties. To that end, the event was exceedingly successful as 93 representatives from the communities of Avenal, Huron, Riverdale, Coalinga, Mendota, San Joaquin, Firebaugh and Tranquillity, from various sectors including agriculture, education, banking, local elected officials, public and private non-profits exchanged perspectives, ideas, concerns and innovative thoughts on the steps the region should take in proactively addressing change for the resultant transformation of rural communities into thriving centers of art, culture, education, community and economic prosperity. Participants at the RDI heard from various private and public sector leaders. Each spoke optimistically about the future of the region and the need for focused planning, coordinated effort and collaboration. Please click the following links to view highlights of the RDI event, the RDI Schedule of Events and the Press Release.
The origin of the Rural Development Initiative dates back to November 2004, when the Rural Communities Collaborative general membership meeting hosted a Western Fresno Rural City Manager Round Table. This Round Table was well received and concluded with a format for eliciting feedback from the City Managers on means by which the Rural Collaborative could assist the cities with building capacity. A follow up meeting with Western Fresno County City Managers and EOC's Office of Rural Assistance resulted in the conceptualization of this initiative.
This Initiative is supported locally by West Hills Community College District and the Fresno County Economic Opportunities Commission. State support is provided by USDA Rural Development and RuralCAN.


text:
alias gpro='cd $projects; ls -ahF'
alias gche='cd $projects/cheats; ls -ahF'
alias gblo='cd $blog; ls -ahF'
alias gdep='cd $dep; ls -ahF'
alias gace='cd $HOME/aced/app; ls -ahF'
alias gbin='cd $cfg/bin; ls -ahF'
alias gdot='cd $cfg/dotfiles; ls -ahF'

## misc aliases ##########################################################
alias ..='cd ..'                            # cd up 1 level
alias ..2='cd ../..'                        # cd up 2 levels
alias ..3='cd ../../..'                     # cd up 3 levels
alias ..4='cd ../../../..'                  # cd up 4 levels
alias aced='$HOME/aced/app/aced.sh'         # AWS IAM/EC2 provisioning/tasks
alias al='alias_list'                       # show all loaded aliases; [term]
alias fp000='chmod a-rwx'                   # strip all file perms
alias fp644='chmod go+r,u+rw'               # set file perms to 644
alias fp755='chmod go+rx,u+rwx'             # set file perms to 755
alias fpax='chmod a+x'                      # make executable
alias bak='backup'                          # backup(); [dir/file]
alias c='clear'                             # clear screen
alias ch='cheat'                            # search for term in note file
alias cp='cp -iv'                           # copy; confirm; verbose
alias cpwd='pwd | tr -d "\n" | pbcopy'      # copy working directory path
alias ci='fc -nl -1 | tr -d "\n" | pbcopy'  # copy prior command
alias co='$(fc -nl -1) |tr -d "\n" |pbcopy' # copy output of prior command
alias dns-f='dscacheutil -flushcache'       # flush dns cache
alias emv='set -o vi; echo "vi mode"'       # set edit mode to vi
alias eme='set -o emacs; echo "emacs mode"' # set edit mode to emacs (default)
alias f='open -a finder $PWD'               # open $PWD in osx finder; [folder]
alias fs='find . -name'                     # filename search [folder/file]
alias func='declare -F'                     # see list of active functions
alias funcf='declare -f'                    # see active functions
alias g='git'                               # run git binary
alias gk='gitk --all'                       # run git repo browser
alias h='history'                           # list command history
alias hr='history_remove'                   # remove line(s) from history
alias hs='history_search'                   # search command history [term]
alias ip='curl ip.appspot.com'              # list public facing ip address
alias kb='key_backup.sh'                    # invoke backup script
alias l.='ls -dAF .[^.]*'                   # ls only dotfiles
alias l='ls -fF'                            # list all; no sort; link=/, dir=@
alias lc='echo last command: $(fc -nl -1)'  # show last command
alias ld='ls -dA */'                        # ls only dirs
alias ll='ls_octal -f'                      # ls -l + octal perms (contents)
alias lld='ls_octal -d'                     # ls -l + octal perms (dir)
alias lt='ls -Altr'                         # sort by date (latest @bottom)
alias lz='ls -AlShr'                        # sort by size (largest @bottom)
alias ln='ln -v'                            # link creation with verbose switch
alias m0='make_empty_file'                  # mkfile [number] [size]
alias mv='mv -iv'                           # move; confirm; verbose
alias path='echo -e ${PATH//:/\\n}'         # list all executable paths
alias ping='ping -c3'                       # limit ping to 3 attempts
alias R='. $HOME/.bash_profile'             # source .bash_profile
alias rm='rm -iv'                           # remove; confirm; verbose
alias s='scratch'                           # create temporary note; hud in ps1
alias ver='sw_vers'                         # check osx version
alias which='which -a'                      # find executable [app] instances
alias wk='work.sh'                          # invoke bettersnaptool snap script
alias wl='web_logs'                         # invoke visual web log analyzer

# disabled aliases for tools and projects no longer use
## ansible aliases #######################################################
# alias avl='ansible-vault edit $p_vl'        # decrypt & edit vault_local.yml
# alias avs='ansible-vault edit $p_vs'        # decrypt & edit vault_server.yml
# alias ave='ansible-vault encrypt'           # add file encryption [path/file]
# alias avd='ansible-vault decrypt'           # remove file encryption [path/file]
# alias apl='$c_ap -l local -K $c_ap2 -vvv'   # run playbook host-limited: local
# alias apd='$c_ap -l dev $c_ap2 -vvv'        # run playbook host-limited: dev
# alias aps='$c_ap -l stage $c_ap2 -vvv'      # run playbook host-limited: stage
# alias app='$c_ap -l prod $c_ap2 -vvv'       # run playbook host-limited: prod
# alias aplm='$apd -t mod'                    # run dev play with tag: mod
# alias aplr='$apd -t reset'                  # run dev play with tag: reset
# alias aal='ansible -i $p_inv local -a'      # run adhoc command: local [command]
# alias aad='ansible -i $p_inv dev -a'        # run adhoc command: dev [command]
# alias aas='ansible -i $p_inv stage -a'      # run adhoc command: stage [command]
# alias aap='ansible -i $p_inv prod -a'       # run adhoc command: prod [command]
# alias aaP='ansible -i $p_inv all -m ping'   # run adhoc ping: all

## docker aliases ########################################################
# alias d='docker'                           # docker binary
# alias dx='docker exec -it'                 # run command on container [name]
# alias dl='docker logs'                     # list container log [name] [-f]
# alias dps='docker ps'                      # list containers (running)
# alias dpsa='docker ps -a | grep Exited'    # list containers (exited)
# alias dpsq='docker ps -q' 				         # list container IDs (running)
# alias dpsaq='docker ps -aq'                # list container IDs (all)
# alias drel='docker_releases.sh'            # download latest docker releases
# alias dst='docker stats $(docker ps -q)'   # container memory/cpu usage
# alias dip='docker_get_ip'                  # list container IP [name]
# alias dgo='docker_go_container'            # open container cli
# alias din='docker inspect'                 # list container/image info [name]
# alias dim='docker images'                  # list images
# alias drmi='docker_rm_image'               # delete image [name]
# alias drmia='docker rmi $(docker images -q)' # delete all images
# alias drmc='docker kill $(docker ps -aq) && docker rm $(docker ps -aq)'
# alias dnuke='docker_rm_atomic'             # stop/delete all containers/images

## docker-compose aliases ################################################
# alias dc='docker-compose'                  # docker-compose binary
# alias dcup='docker-compose up -d'          # build services & run containers
# alias dcb='docker-compose build'		       # (re)build service image [Name]
# alias dcr='docker-compose restart'	       # restart all containers
# alias dcon='docker-compose start'	         # start container(s) [Name]
# alias dcof='docker-compose stop'	         # start all containers
# alias dcps='docker-compose ps'	           # list docker-compose services
# alias dcl='docker-compose logs'            # list service logs w/ tail -f

## docker-machine aliases ################################################
# alias dm='docker-machine'                  # docker-machine binary
# alias dma='docker-machine active'          # list machines (active)
# alias dmas='machine_set_active'            # set active machine; opt [mach_name]
# alias dmgo='machine_go'                    # ssh into machine; opt [mach_name]
# alias dmip='machine_get_ip'                # get machine ip; opt [mach_name]
# alias dmls='docker-machine ls'			       # list machines (all)
# alias dmrm='docker-machine rm'             # remove machine; opt [mach_name]
# alias dmr='machine_restart'                # restart machine; opt [mach_name]
# alias dmon='machine_start'                 # restart machine; opt [mach_name]
# alias dmof='machine_stop'                  # restart machine; opt [mach_name]

## drush aliases #########################################################
# alias dxd='docker exec -it tool drush'     # run drush on waf.dev
# alias dxd-c='dxd cache-rebuild'            # clear all drupal 8 caches
# # open one-time login link for specified user; uid 1=default
# alias dxd-l="dxd user-login | pbcopy && open $(pbpaste)"
# alias dxd-m='drupal_maintenance && dxd-c'  # toggle maintenance mode on/off

## tumx aliases ##########################################################
# alias w1='tmux_workspace.sh'                # attach to session; create if none
# alias w1d='tmux detach'                     # detach tmux session
# alias w1k='killall tmux'                    # kill tmux session

## vagrant aliases #######################################################
# silence & push to bg; ssh to vm
# alias vuwaf='gwaf && vagrant rsync-back > /dev/null && vagrant rsync-auto > /dev/null & ssh waf && fg'
# rsync host to guest
# alias synca='vagrant rsync-auto > /dev/null && fg'
# alias syncb='vagrant rsync-back'            # one-shot rsync from guest to host
# alias vst='vagrant status'                  # run from vagrant project directory
# alias vup='vagrant up'                      # "
# alias vpro='vagrant provision'              # "
# alias vhal='vagrant halt'                   # "
# alias vrel='vagrant reload'                 # "
# alias vssh='vagrant ssh'                    # "
# alias vkil='vagrant destroy'                # "
# alias vsus='vagrant suspend'                # "
# alias vres='vagrant resume'                 # "
# alias vbls='VBoxManage list runningvms'     # list names of running VBox boxes
# alias vbup='vbox_start'                     # manually start vbox

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The CRS was brought in specifically at the request of our Group S drivers, who have expressed strong interest in taking it. However, to insure sufficient participation to cover the additional costs of holding a CRS, upper-level intermediate and advanced students, as well as instructors, are also welcome to apply.
Group S members, PLEASE READ: There is no separate open-track Group S program at this event. In its place, GS drivers have two options: 1) Sign up for the Club Race School. The two-day CRS fee is the same as we charged last year for a normal three-day GS weekend. You have the option to add the open-track day on Friday for an additional charge of only $100! Alternatively, 2) sign up as an Advanced student for the weekend. Because you are a GS driver running in Group 2, you are signed off by default to run without an instructor, and will be able to take additional sessions in the instructor group for $50 per session (payable at the track). Your last option is 3) Sign up to drive Friday ONLY for $210.
Club Race School: 4-5 sessions.
Club Race School (G1): $675 (Saturday-Sunday); Non-members: $800. Optional Friday open-track add-on (members only) is an additional $100.


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The Allen Independent School District is a school district based in Allen, Oklahoma United States.

See also
List of school districts in Oklahoma

References

External links
 Allen Overview

School districts in Oklahoma
Education in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma